SAPR-Volume 1
by scarecrow1000154
Summary: This is the story of four of Beacon's most unique first-year students: a one-eyed girl aiming to become the best swordswoman Remnant's ever seen, a mysterious boy who hides his face and scars behind linen wraps, a perverted puller of strings with a hatred for the Schnee family, and a giant, ax wielding, bear Faunus with a short temper. Together, they make Team SAPR.
1. Blue Trailer

On the island of Patch, there's a graveyard full of tombstones of all shapes and sizes. The emerald grass is fairly coating the ground appears fairly tame with a few exceptions near the steel gate surrounding the plot of land.

Near the center of this field of grief, a family dressed in all black watches over a coffin as a few men slowly lower the container into its grave. Within the crowd, a young girl, no older than five, with golden locks of hair tied up into twin ponytails holds her mother's hand as she hears the sound of the coffin hitting the ground. And as the men start covering the coffin in dirt, the young girl buries her face in her mother's black dress, hiding her tears as the loving mother holds her close to her side.

In the distance, far beyond the steel gate protecting the sacred ground, Yang Xiao Long watches over the depressing scene with a saddened expression. With a heavy sigh, Yang turns her gaze away from the scene and groans, "These things always bring me down. Why do we even have funerals, they only bring more Grimm..."

The blonde's train of though is cut off by a kind voice telling her, "Funerals are to help show our respects to those who've fallen and to put them to rest.", causing the blonde to jump a little as she hears the person call out to her from behind.

Yang turns to see a girl with long blue hair and fair skin dressed in mostly blue and black. As the blue haired girl approaches Yang, she flips her hair with one hand, revealing the eye patch over her right eye. " _It's not like her to be this down, I guess even Yang can feel the dread in the air._ ", the azure warrior thinks as she stands by Yang's side.

The blonde returns her gaze back to the funeral, a slight frown coming across her face as she says, "Yeah, I know, but can't we find some other way to do this? Funerals always seem to bring all kinds of Grimm, no matter where they're held."

As she looks over to Yang, a slightly confident grin comes across the blue girl's face as she tell the blonde, "That's what they brought us for, remember? Your dad said that this is one of the kinds of jobs that Huntsmen take for some quick Lien. It shouldn't be too hard."

Turning to the blue girl with a slight pout, Yang let's out a tired groan and says, "I know we can handle it, but this mood really bums me out, ya know? Not to mention you've been dragging my butt all over Patch for these jobs."

The grinning warrior gently places her hands on Yang's tensed up shoulders, trying to ease the blonde's worries as she says, "It's this kind of stuff that'll help get both of us into Beacon. We might be at the top of our class, but that doesn't give us a VIP pass. We still need to keep working like hell to get where we wanna go in life."

As she hears her friend's kind tone, Yang smiles and her tense shoulders begin to relax before replying with, "You always seem to know what to say, Sapphire."

Sapphire just smiles back at the blond and replies with, "I try. Now you head over to the other side, I'll handle this side for now. That way we cover both sides of the graveyard better."

"What? Did you already use your semblance?", Yang asks with a raised eyebrow as she looks around for trouble.

Sapphire gives the blonde a cheeky grin as she says, "You'll find out when you get there. Trust me."

Yang, knowing there's no point in trying to question the azure warrior any further, nods before activating her Ember Celica with a flick of her wrists and rushing over to where Sapphire instructed her to go.

Sapphire lets out a sigh of relief before thinking, " _Good, she'll be able to handle the Ursai coming from the East. I'll just have to hold off these guys._ " The azure huntress puts her right hand on the first of two katanas, Azure Drakes, on her left hip and draws it out, preparing for battle.

* * *

As she prepares for battle, Sapphire places her left foot forward and her right foot back with her sword held in both hands, her right being closer to the guard and the blade being held at an angle so that the razor sharp side is pointed to the sky. With the sound of the young widow's crying in the graveyard comes another sound, the roar of beasts from the nearby woods. The ground seems to tremble under Sapphire's feet as the beastly sounds draw closer and closer. "It's show time.", Sapphire says to herself as she rushes the incoming threat head-on.

As she rushes in, Sapphire is instantly greeted by a King Taijitu that comes slithering out from the forest. The beast is fairly large for a Grimm, but it appears to only be a fledgling as it lacks the classic Grimm masks on each head and only reaches half of the height of the nearby trees. Though it's only a child by Grimm standards, it's hardly a beast to underestimate.

Sapphire barely manages to dash around the beast, avoiding its darker head as it snaps at her. After avoiding the serpent's attack, Sapphire notices the Grimm isn't alone as a small hoard of fledgling Beowolves and a couple weaker Boarbatusks appear out of the forest behind the behemoth, lacking any bony armor due to their young age.

As she rushes past the hoard, Sapphire's blue aura radiates around her arms and legs, amplifying her speed tremendously. With a few quick slashes, she slices through ten Beowolves and as she comes to a stop, she buries her sword in a Boarbatusk's head, killing it as she removes the blade from the beast's skull.

Before she can continue her assault on the hoard, Sapphire's met with the white head of the King Taijitu, which tries to crush her with its giant body. With only a single sword, she manages to block the attack, but the force is enough to push her back into a tree.

As she slams into the tree back-first, Sapphire's aura activates, protecting her from any serious damage from the attack. Now with a fair amount of space between her and the Grimm, Sapphire quickly assesses the situation, thinking, " _There's only a few of them left now, five not including the King Taijitu? And I have plenty of aura left... I should be able to go into the next stance and use my semblance to deal with them all at once._ " As Sapphire focuses on the hoard with her one eye, it begins to glow with an overwhelming amount of blue aura. With her eye glowing a bright blue, Sapphire quickly places the grip of her blade in her mouth before drawing two more of her swords, holding one in each hand. " _Three sword style... Time to go on the offensive._ ", the azure warrior thinks to herself as she charges at the incoming Beowolves and Boarbatusk as the leave their King behind.

Pressing the buttons on the grips of her swords, Sapphire causes the blades glow with a bright blue light and lightning starts flowing through them, arcing to each of the blades as she cuts through her enemies. As Sapphire speeds past the small hoard of fledgling Grimm, her lightning coated blades leaving a long bolt of lightning behind her, she cuts and slashes her way through what's left of the hoard of Beowolves. And with a unified slash of her two blades, Sapphire sends a electrified slash at the Boarbatusk, engulfing the beast in a dragon-shaped bolt of lightning.

With the beasts' charred remains starting to evaporate, the King Taijitu is left standing in the wake of the one-eyed warrior's destruction.

Sapphire turns her attention back to the King Taijitu, crossing the two blades in her hands as she glares the serpent down. As its white head lunges at her, Sapphire's glowing eye widens and she sees the Grimm's white head crash into the ground in front of her, sending dirt into the air and blinding her as the black head lunges through the smoke and devours her in one bite. After seeing herself being devoured, the vision shatters and Sapphire finds herself back in the fight.

With the white head lunging at the her exactly how it did in her vision, Sapphire leaps on top of it as it crashes into the ground, avoiding the beast's trap. Instead of attacking the white head, Sapphire leaps straight at the incoming black head lunging at her. With all three of her swords, she slices through the black head's neck, decapitating it from it body and leaving only the white one to fend for itself.

Turning to face the other head, Sapphire's greeted by a agonized roar from the beast, its other end flailing wildly as it slowly starts to disintegrate. As the beast continues to reel back in pain, Sapphire pulls a trigger on her three Azure Drakes and as a quiet click sounds from their cylinders, their blades are ignite in blazing flames. With a quick swipe from all three of her blades, the remaining head is engulfed in her burning red flames. The flames quickly engulf the serpent's whole body, burning what's left of it until it finally succumbs to death.

As the beast's body crashes into the ground, Sapphire twirls the two blades in her hands before dramatically returning them to their sheaths. With two of her blades sheathed, Sapphire turns her attention back to the defeated King Taijitu's remains, watching as they begin to disintegrate like the other Grimm before it, leaving only a black sludge behind.

With a slightly disappointed look in her eyes, Sapphire takes the final sword out of her mouth before saying, "Child's play as always. I'd better check up on Yang. She's good and I doubt a few Ursai could overwhelm her, but it's better safe than sorry." There's a sudden shimmer in the warrior's eye and she lets out a slight chuckle. "You're standing right behind me, aren't you?", she asks with a slightly pleased grin as she sheaths her last sword.

Yang slugs Sapphire on the shoulder before saying, "You're such a showoff! What was with all that Dust? Did you really have to use that much on these weakling?"

Sapphire gives the blonde a slight snicker, laughing off the punch before saying, "Hey, sometimes you just have to go all out. It's been a while since I considered using my Three Swords Stance. Besides, if I didn't use that Dust it'd probably just go to waste. Now come on, we need to report back in with your Dad."


	2. Grey Trailer Prt 1

In the pale moon light, Professor Ozpin and Glynda are walking through a forest, appearing to be on high alert for any enemy activity. "What do you think it could be?", Glynda asks Ozpin as she glances around, keeping an eye out for Grimm.

"It's possible that one of the maidens passed on and their power was transferred to someone here. Or it might be...", Ozpin begins to say before a Beowolf suddenly jumps out in front of them. The Beowolf lets out a terrifying roar, but the two experiences hunters aren't phased in the slightest. As it goes to swipe down at Ozpin with one of its giant claws, a light purple aura suddenly surrounds the Beowolf's body before it's flung into the distance at an alarming speed.

Glynda just sighs and says, "Grimm...what a bother.", before they continue on their path through the forest.

Ozpin fixes his his glasses and says, "Not quite. The citizens of the nearby village told me an interesting story."

Glynda lets out a slight chuckle before asking, "What? Collect another fairy tale for your collection?"

"Yes, actually, I did. The young boy at that inn told me his favorite fairy tale. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it before. It's a tale about a dragon seeking guidance to find a garden.", Ozpin explains with a slight smile on his face.

"A dragon and a garden? Isn't it usually a princess?", Glynda replies with a slightly confused glance.

"Usually, yes, but in this instance it seems he desired to see the flower as they bloomed for the season. I'll tell you the details later. For now, let's just focus on the mission. If this is one of the new maidens, we need to hurry.", Ozpin replies before slightly speeding up his steps. He suddenly stops and glances to his left, causing Glynda to glance over his shoulder to see what he's looking at.

The experienced Huntress nods before replying with, "I doubt we'll be finding any dragons though." As she says this, they come across a cave that seems to have just formed recently. "A cave? Why didn't-", Glynda begins to ask before Ozpin covers her mouth and covering his lips with a finger, telling her to be silent. They both hear a demonic growl come from the forest behind them before they both glance back to see a hoard of Ursai, roughly twenty of them.

"Ursai? Were they drawn here by the aura?", Ozpin asks himself as he removes his hand from Glynda's face and prepares his cane for battle. Before they can attack, however, the Ursai seem to stop in their tracks as a cloud blocks out the light from the moon.

"What's going on? Why did they stop?", Glynda asks before they hear the sound of a metallic click. The Ursai all slowly fall to pieces, sliced and diced into small chunks before they start to disintegrate, revealing a figure standing in the middle of the madness. As the clouds in front of the moon clear, they see that the figure appears to be just a child, roughly seventeen based on their height, wearing a dark grey cloak hiding the rest of their body. The figure turns to them and they see his glowing grey eyes. Glynda glances over at Ozpin for a plan and sees that he's locked in a stare down with the mysterious boy.

Glynda begins to sternly ask, "Ozpin, w-", and without taking his eyes off the man, Ozpin replies with, "It isn't a Grimm, if that's what you're about to ask." Ozpin steps forward and says to the man, "Hello, my name is Professor Ozpin. May I get your name?"

The boy just tilts his head as he continues to glare at Ozpin before glancing up at the full moon.


	3. Orange Trailer

Early in the afternoon, a train is sitting at a train station as many passengers slowly board the vessel. The conductor rings a loud bell as he stands near the entrance to the car closest to the front of the train, gaining everyone's attention outside of the train. "Last call! The train 'll be leavin' shortly for Vale! If you're plannin' on gettin' on, you better do it now!", the old man shouts in a slightly irritated tone.

As the whistle blows and smoke spews from the train's smokestack, the train finally starts moving. At the end of one of the carts, a tall boy is sitting alone, dressed in brown cargo pants with a plad shirt with different shades of orange and black, causing him to stick out like a soar thumb among the bland looking people on the train. One last thing made him stand out most of all though, his fluffy bear ears on the top of his head. He glances out through the window to his left and says to himself in a scruffy voice, "Vale huh? Probably beats the hell out of Vacuo."

His monologue is suddenly disrupted by a couple talking obnoxiously loud in the seats right behind his. "Why did it have to be a train? Don't you know how dangerous trains are!?", the green haired girl shouts in a panic.

"Dia, calm down. You're going to cause a panic.", the boy dressed in dark purple and black says as he puts his hand on hers, trying to calm her down.

"Mudo, I told you that I hated dangerous things! I told you, I told you, I toooold you! Why did you have to force me out on this...this...this death trap!", Dia shouts in a complete panic.

The boy just grinds his teeth in anger at the girl's annoying squeaky voice as Mudo continues to try to calm her down. "Come on, you're over reacting! It's just a train! What's the worst that could happen?", Mudo asks her with a slight smile on his face.

"The train could crash, we could be robbed by bandits, Grimm could show up and destroy the train, someone could fall off the train and die, I could eat a bad bagel and get diarrhea!", she replies as she counts off all the terrible outcomes that could happen to them.

Mudo hangs his head in disappointment before saying, "Really, you're so paranoid. Nothing like that can possibly happen here."

She raises a finger before adding, "Not to mention those filthy Faunus in the White Fang! They'll probably try to rob this train like they did the one from Atlas!"

The boy suddenly stands up, standing like a giant amongst a group of children, before glaring back at Dia. She and Mudo both notice the boy's bear ears and Mudo gulps. They suddenly see he's armed with a large axe on his back, and Dia's eyes widen in fear. "T-they're here! The White Fang! Someone help, the White Fang is trying to attack me!", she shouts in a panic.

This gains everyone's attention, earning concerned glances and glares from the human passengers while getting irritated glares from the Faunus passengers. The boy's anger finally boils over and he shouts, "Not all Faunus are in the White Fang, you racist! I can't even enjoy half a minute of Gods damned peace without someone like you ruining it! I'm sick of it!" As the girl quivers in fear, the boy pulls open the door to the next train car, slamming the door behind him as he leaves.

* * *

As he walks into the next car, he growls to himself in frustration. He slams his fist into the door, leaving a large dent in the metal in the shape of his fist. "She's so- I aughta'- How can people be so ignorant!?", he says to himself as he considers going back to confront Dia again.

He looks at the door and sees the dent he put in it before looking at his fist. He takes a deep breath before exhaling while saying, "Just breath, breath. Don't let people push your buttons. Just...breath..." As he continues to take deep breaths, he slowly calms down. Eventually, he sits down in one of the seats by a window, seeing the red forest just outside the train. "If I let my emotions run wild, Grimm 'll just show up.", he says in a more calm and relaxed tone. He lets out a sigh and thinks, " _Maybe I should just sit here for a while. It's nice and quiet back here. No loud mouth girls to annoy me either._ "

As soon as he finishes his thought, he hears a loud thud come from the next car over. "Did someone's luggage fall over or something?", he asks himself as he stands up.

"You idiot! Don't drop it!", a man shouts from the nearby car.

"Well, I wouldn't 'a dropped it if ya woulda just helped me carry it!", another voice exclaims.

"Quiet you two. The last thing we need is you two blowin' this whole job, now put that damn thing back where ya found it.", a third voice growls in a stricter, more aggressive tone.

" _Job? Does that mean_ -", the boy begins to think before the train comes to a sudden stop. " _W-what the hell? Why did we stop?_ ", the boy thought to himself before hearing the three men heading his way.

"That's our queue boys. Now, let's get that girl like the boss planned 'n head back ta camp. Without any huntsmen or huntresses on this train, this 'll be a cake walk.", the bossy guy says to them as the door between the two cars opens. As the three men walk out into the light, the boy sees that they're dressed like bandits.

"I guess that lady had a reason to be worried then. To think some bandits would be petty enough to rob a small train full of commoners.", the boy says to them with his hand on the grip of his large axe.

"Heh, look, it's some dumb bear kid. How about you go find some honey to eat or something, Pooh Bear?", one of the bandits says with a grin on his face.

The boy pulls the weapon off his back to reveal it's similar to a woodsman's axe with a metal handle that has a dual trigger mechanism near the bottom.

"Look kid, you're outnumbered and outclassed. There's three of us here and even more up in those other cars. Just hand over the money and we can all go home, alright?", the bossy one says, seeming to try to avoid a fight as he puts his hands in his pockets.

Without almost any warning, the man lunges at the boy with a switchblade that he pulled out of his pocket. The boy manages to duck under the attack, and with one swing of his axe he sends the man flying through the roof of the train car like a baseball. The other two bandits look up in complete disbelief before pulling their weapons out to fight the boy. One of them has a SMG while the other has a basic machete.

"Don't think ya can get away with tha-", the one with the machete begins to say before his axe transforms into a pump-action shotgun. Their eyes widen right before they're launched out of the same hole their leader was sent flying out of thanks to the explosive round the boy shot right under their feet.

As he pulls back the fore end on his weapon, he says, "You guys are already pissin' me off. A guy can't ever get a moment of peace, can he?" He then glances back at the door where he originally came from and says, "I guess I have to deal with this now. Good grief."

* * *

In one of the train cars, a group of men are holding the passengers all at gunpoint. As one of the men points his gun at a woman wearing a fancy necklace, he gestures for her to put her belongings in the bag tied to his hip and she complies. The bandit laughs at her before saying, "Alright guys, lets clear out this last car and meet the others at the rendezvous point in the back. Bunch of fuckin' idiots, not a single huntsman in sight and so many people to rob." The rest of the bandits laugh with him, but their joyful moment is cut off when they hear a door open behind them. It's the door to the second to last car of the train and they see the boy from earlier standing there with his axe in his hand, its head scrapping against the metal floor.

"I-it's him. That Faunus from earlier. Is he a Huntsman?", Mudo asks as he glances over at the boy.

"Look, another filthy Faunus tryna' stand up for what's 'right,' HA! Get 'em boys!", the bandit with the bag on his hip shouts and the five other bandits all rush at the boy all at once. The boy quickly spins the axe in his hand before wailing one of the bandits in the face with the back of its head, sending them head first into the wall. Two more bandits attack together to try to divide his attention, but he blocks both of their attacks with his axe's handle before sweeping their feet out from underneath them. As they hit the ground, he flips his axe around like its a golf club before swinging at the two like their bodies were a large golf ball. With that single swing, he sends the two hurdling into the rest of the low level bandits, leaving only the one with the bag full of valuables.

The bandit points his gun at the boy, but his axe quickly turns into its shotgun form and he just shoots the gun out of the bandit's hand. He scurries to find his gun, but once he does, he sees the barrel and chamber were both melted by the shot, making the weapon useless. "You brat, I'll k-", the bandit begins to say before his mouth is filled with the boy's boot. The powerful kick sends the bandit hurdling back first into the door heading to the next train car, causing him to hit his head and start to bleed.

The bandit looks around for a way to escape and sees a girl cowering in fear, Dia. He grabs the girl by her hair, causing her to scream, before pulling out a small knife from his pocket and putting it to her throat. "Alright, ya lil' shit, drop it! Unless ya want me to paint this train car with this poor girl's blood?", the bandit demands in a cruel tone as he presses the blade against the girl's neck, causing her to quiver in fear.

Mudo panics and exclaims, "No, Dia!", but the boy just lets out a slight chuckle.

"Why would I help a racist?", he asks in a mocking tone.

Dia's eyes widen and the bandit shouts, "Stop screwin' around and drop your weapon! Or I swear by the Gods I'll fucking do it!"

"Please! Do as he asks! I'm begging you! Don't let him hurt her!", Mudo begs the boy, earning him a glare from the grizzly boy. As their eyes make contact, the boy can see the despair in Mudo's eyes. He glances over to something by Mudo's feet then back to Mudo a few times before an evil grin comes across the axeman's face.

He says, "Alright, fine. I'll drop my weapon and when you guys are gone I'll deal with her on my own.", before dropping his axe on the ground with a loud thud. The boy then puts his hands up slightly to show he's totally disarmed. "There. Now, let the ignorant racist go.", the boy says, only earning a growl from the bandit.

"What do ya think I am, stupid? Kick that damn thing out of your reach or I'll turn this girl into a fillet!", the bandit demands as the girl continues to cry. The boy growls before kicking the axe behind him, making sure it was far enough out of his reach. He then glances back over at Mudo and gives him a slight nod, and Mudo nods back.

"There, happy?", the boy asks and the bandit just laughs.

"Yeah, now I'm gonna use this girl to get off this damn train! Maybe I'll take her back to camp with me? Could always use a cute little punchin' bag like this girl, heh. See ya idiots later!", the bandit exclaims before reaching over for the door handle to escape to freedom.

In that moment, he sees something fly up into the air, a shoe. In the chaos of the last fight, one of the bandits lost their shoes from the sheer impact from the boy's last attack. The bandit quickly notices that Mudo was the one who threw it up into the air. "W-what-", the bandit begins to ask in confusion before the boy seems to glow a dark orange. The boy pulls back his right fist and punches the shoe with all his might, sending the shoe flying like a bullet aimed straight at the bandit's head. "the HELL!?", the bandit finishes before the shoe hits him in the dead center of his forehead. The bandit's light green aura seems to shatter before he collapses on the ground, unconscious.

Mudo rushes over to comfort Dia, who's still crying, before turning to the boy and saying, "Thank you, thank you so much!"

The boy turns and walks over to his axe on the ground before stomping on the ground, forcing the head of the weapon to bounce up into the air. As he catches his axe by the handle, he turns back to Dia and glares, causing her to gulp. She continues to panic as he starts walking towards her, dragging his axe behind him as he walks. When he's finally in front of her, she shuts her eyes, waiting for her death, but is surprised when she feels something fall in her lap. She opens her eyes to see it's a small box of medical supplies.

"You're bleeding, you should patch yourself up if you want the wound to heal faster.", the boy suggests as he lifts his axe up onto his shoulder.

"T-thank you.", she replies sheepishly with a quick bow of her head. He doesn't bother replying and simply turns away from them before walking over to take a seat.

"What's your name mister? I'd like to know the F-, the hero who saved our lives.", Mudo asks with a smile.

As the boy sits down, he glances over at the couple and says, "Persi, Persi Pumpkin."


	4. Silver Trailer

In the frozen tundra of Atlas, there is a base camp at the peak of one of the snowy mountain sides. Inside one of the tents, a woman with white hair and slate blue eyes wearing an Atlas Military uniform, Winter Schnee. She presses a button on her walkie-talkie and says, "This is base command, all units report in. Over."

She waits for a response and quickly hears a young girl say, "This is Beta unit, reporting in. No signs of Grimm activity on the northern side of the mountain side. Over."

Another voice, this time a sheepish boy, comes through, saying, "T-this is Gamma unit, ma'am. No activity here on the eastern side either. O-over."

She patiently waits for the third response, but when it doesn't come, she picks up her radio and says, "Alpha unit, report in. Over." The air is filled with the sound of static as she continue to wait for a response, but continues to get nothing. "Damn it, that boy. What kind of trouble has he gotten himself into now?", she mutters to herself in an irritated tone. She picks up her radio again and says, "Beta and Gamma units, head west and investigate Alpha unit's current predicament. Over."

The girlish voice replies over the radio, saying, "Roger that, Base Command! Heading that way now. Over."

"R-right away Base Command! Heading out now. Over.", the sheepish boy voice replies over the radio.

They all hear a boy laughing at them over the radio before saying, "You all sound like a bunch of nerds speaking like that."

Winter grinds her teeth and shouts over the radio, saying, "Alpha unit, where were you!? You're supposed to reply as soon as you're able! What do you have to say for yourself!? Over!"

"Oh, you were trying to contact me? I shut this thing off for a bit.", he smugly replies, causing her to fill with rage.

"Why would you turn your scroll off at a time like this!? We're in the middle of a very serious exercise! Over!", she exclaims, her grip tightening on the walkie-talkie.

He just laughs at her rage before replying with, "Well, to be fair, I did have a good reason to turn your loud mouth off for a while, Winter."

"What could have possibly been so important that you cut off all communications with base command and go rogue like that, Alpha unit!? OVER!", she shout, completely enraged by his disobedient nature.

"Well, if you'd shut up and listen, I'd tell you that I found a few Grimm up here. Your loud mouth drew in their attention and they attacked. Now I think I've found their nest.", he replies, leaving her beyond astonished.

The sheepish boy starts to panic and asks, "You found a Grimm nest!? What is it doing this close to Atlas?"

"Don't know, don't care. I'm dealing with it.", the Alpha unit confidently replies.

"Alpha unit, you are to hold your position and wait for reinforcements. This is too much for you to handle on your own! Are you listening to me Reginald!? You are to remain where you are and wait!", Winter orders as she grabs her sword and prepares to head out to join them. She waits for a response, but there's only static. She just grinds her teeth and mutters, "He's just like that fool.", before rushing out of the tent to find the Grimm nest.

* * *

Off near the peak of the mountain, a boy is standing in front of the entrance to a cave by himself, looking at his scroll. He's dressed in a silver dress shirt with a black vest over top of it, black dress pants with matching dress shoes, and metallic gloves with small metal claws that cover his finger tips and curve slightly inwards. On the back of his gloves, there are revolving cylinders that hold dust with symbols which looks like a three legged crows.

He chuckles to himself before saying, "Like I need their help dealing with these guys." He puts his scroll on silent before shoving it into his inner vest pocket and bravely heading into the cave. As he enters the cave, he hears a growl from the inside, sounding similar to that of a tiger. He glances up and sees two large, glowing red eyes looking down at him menacingly as the growl deepens. He just raises and eyebrow at the eyes and says, "If you're going to come at me, do it. Don't just stand there like a pansy."

Suddenly, a large beast leaps down at him, it's large fangs ready to pierce his throat. He elegantly dodges past the beast, thinking, " _A Silvertooth? How disappointing._ " As the beast lands on all four, it turns back to Reginald before suddenly stopping. It growls at the boy as it seems to be struggling to move, it's paws and legs twitching somewhat. He glances over his shoulder at the beast and says, "You beasts are so predictable. You fell right into my trap.", before looking back at his open right hand and closing it. The Silvertooth lets out a wicked roar before being torn to pieces.

As the Silvertooth's remains begin to evaporate out of existence, leaving only its skeletal mask behind, Reginald looks at a shimmer in the air. They appear to be silver threads that swirl and spin around him like a small barrier. As the threads seem to ignite with fire, Reginald grins and says, "That's four down so far. Now for the main course!" Out from the shadows, a large spike is hurled straight at his face. Reginald pulls his hands back while curling his fingers slightly and the threads all come together to form a small barrier of flames, stopping the spike in its tracks.

As a figure, shaped like a Silvertooth leaps out of the shadows, Reginald thinks to himself, " _That wasn't an ordinary Silvertooth attack, or one from an Alpha Silvertooth either. Then it has to be_ -" But before he can even finish his thought, the beast leaps at his throat with its claws, revealing itself to be not just a Silvertooth, but a highly evolved version. Reginald grins at the monster's attempts at murdering him while managing to dodge every blow and saying, "A Silvertooth Ravager. This'll be fun!"

He sends multiple threads covered in flames at the beast, but it manages to avoid the onslaught by running up the sides of the cave, using its retractable claws to dig into the stone as it runs along. Reginald just laughs at the beast before saying, "You're a clever one, aren't ya? Well, let's see how well you handle this one!" He presses a button on the wrists of his gloves and the fire that engulfed the threads dissipates and is replaced with a chilling aura. With a flick of his wrists, the threads come together to form a barrage of icicle spears. All of the icicle spears suddenly go flying toward the Grimm, but it manages to either dodge the spears or just knock them away with its claws as it moves closer to Reginald.

The Ravager lunges at Reginald once more, aiming to finally kill the young warrior, but stops just a hair's length between its claw and his face. Reginald's smile turns into a wicked grin as he says, "It's been fun, but I should wrap this up. Don't want the new guys thinkin' I'm all talk now, do we?" The Ravager is stuck in an ice barrier formed out of the moist air from Reginald's breathing and the icicle spears that hit the walls and ceiling when they 'missed' their intended target.

* * *

Outside along the snowy path up the mountain, Winter is leading two children to the peak. "That Reginald, when I get my hands on him! This is the third time this week he's disobeyed a direct order from his superior officer!", she exclaims in frustration.

"It'll be alright, ! I'm sure Reg- I mean, Alpha unit is more than capable of handling this situation personally.", the girl says to her with a slight smile.

The nervous boy nods in response and adds, "Yeah, he doesn't seem to lack any in that department. I just wish he'd stop insulting us..."

Winter suddenly holds her hand up, signaling for them to stop everything. They all stop and hear a loud, blood curdling roar come from the peak of the mountain. "Silverteeth? Here?", the nervous boy asks in a panic.

"We need to hurry, there's no telling how many of them could be skulking around here as we speak.", Winter orders as they continue their way up to the peak.

They all stop when they hear Reginald say, "There were five. An average amount of Grimm for a pack of Silverteeth." When they hear this, they all turn to see Reginald without even a drop of sweat on him and a grin on his face.

"Alpha unit, I ordered you to hold position! You are a member of this team and you should act the part! You need to stop acting like a child and grow up! You don't follow chain of command or any of the rules we enforce back at Atlas Academy, and you can't even follow the simplest of orders! Wait until your father hears about this!", Winter snaps as she finally reaches her breaking point.

Reginald just rolls his eyes at her outburst and says, "If you're referring to 'James' you can tell him I couldn't care less what he thinks of me. As for your 'rules', I know what I'm doing and I don't need your dumb rules to do it. And as for this 'team' you say I'm a part of, I never asked to be a part of this. None of us did." He just walks over to them with a slightly irritated look on his face before saying, "I got the job done, and that's what really matters, right? Now let's just head back to base. There's nothing else to really do here."

Winter simply facepalms while letting out a grown of frustration as the boy walks past them. She glances up to the team and says, "Fine, we're heading back to base camp, but once we get there I'll be having a word with your father about this... incident.", as they start to move out behind the boy.

Reginald glares back at her over his shoulders before telling her in a more serious tone, "Don't call that man my father. He's **nothing** like my father."


	5. Welcome to Beacon

Up in an airship heading for Beacon Academy, Yang pulls her little sister into a tight hug. As she nearly crushes Ruby with her bear hug, Yang exclaims, "Oh I'm so proud of you!"

"Really sis, it was nothing.", Ruby replies as she struggles to breath in her sister's grasp.

Sapphire, who's standing next to the duo, scoffs at her claim and says, "I wouldn't exactly call that 'nothing', Ruby.", as she points at a screen on the wall. The sisters glance over to see it's the news.

"Hello, I'm Lisa Lavender with the EBC News Network. Today's story: Infamous criminal mastermind Roman Torchwich was captured late last night, following an attempted robbery of yet another dust shop. Eye witnesses claim that one of Beacon's teachers, Glynda Goodwitch, along with an unknown female worked together to take down Torchwich, leading to his arrest. In other news, yesterday's peaceful Faunus protest turned dark as members of the White Fang disrupted the protest, lighting stores and restaurants ablaze. The amount of damage is still un-", the news anchor explains before the transmission is suddenly cut off.

In her place, a life-sized hologram of Professor Goodwitch appears, standing in a stern and confident manner. "Good evening, I am Glynda Goodwitch. You've all been gifted with the privilege to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing a time of peace and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold that peace to the best of your ability. You have all demonstrated the courage needed for this task and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training needed to protect our world.", the hologram explains before vanishing as quickly as she shown up.

"Wow, to think you'd get to meet a Professor from Beacon out of the blue like that. That's some luck Ruby.", Sapphire says as she pats the young girl on her shoulder.

"Woooah, guys look!", Ruby exclaims as she runs over to the nearby window. As the all peer out the window, they see that they're unrealistically high above the ground. "You can see Signal from here!", the young girl exclaims as she presses her small face against the glass.

"I guess home isn't too far.", Sapphire adds as she walks up to the window and puts one of her hands against the glass while looking down on Signal Academy.

Yang stands between the two girls and puts a hand on their shoulders before saying, "Beacon's our home now."

Their tender moment is disrupted however by a boy with blonde hair making uneasy noises, almost as if something was troubling him. "Is that guy...okay?", Ruby asks before the boy starts running across the ship toward the trashcan, holding his mouth shut with his hands as he runs.

"I'd say that's a no.", Sapphire replies with a slight smile.

Yang just shrugs it off and adds, "I guess the view isn't for everyone."

Ruby sighs and says, "It was a nice moment while it lasted.", as she crosses her arms while continuing to look out the window.

"I wonder who we're gonna meet here at Beacon. Oooooh, maybe we'll meet some cute boys!", Yang says with a childish grin.

"Hopefully they're better than Vomit Boy over there.", Ruby says, earning a giggle from Sapphire and her sister.

Sapphire suddenly smells something before looking down and saying, "Looks like Vomit Boy couldn't hold it all in for you, Yang."

Yang raises an eyebrow at her before looking at her sister, who has a completely disgusted look on her face. "Eww, Yang! You got vomit on your shoes!", Ruby shouts, causing Yang to panic. "

Gross. Gross! GROSS!", Yang exclaims in a panic.

Ruby starts to panic as Yang starts to flail her foot around, trying to get the vomit off her shoes, and she shouts, "No! Keep it away from me! Keep it AWAY from me!"

* * *

As the airship finally docks, everyone makes their way off into Beacon, except for Vomit Boy, who's still throwing up in the trashcan by the exit. The boy comes up for air only for an orange haired boy built like a jock to push his head back down into the can, getting it stuck in the process. "Hey!", the boy shouts in a panic only for the jock to reply with, "Later loser.", before walking off.

As the girls pass the poor boy stuck in the trashcan, they find themselves in Beacon's main courtyard. The main building towers over them and multiple students pass them as they're left looking up in awe of the view before them. "That view of Vale has nothing on this place.", Yang says as they continue to admire the design of the school.

Ruby happens to glance over to see another student and shouts, "Ohh! That girl has a collapsible staff!", before starting to follow them. She turns her head to see a boy walking by and she sees his weapon before squealing, "And he has a fire sword!", and starting to follow him as well.

"Calm down Ruby, they're just weapons.", Sapphire says as she and Yang pull her back, trying to keep her from looking like a creepy stalker girl.

"They're not just some 'weapons' Sapphire, they're like an extension of ourselves! You know a person's weapon can say a lot about them. And they're just so COOL!", Ruby replies as she breaks free from their grasp.

Yang gives her a confused look before asking, "Why can't you swing over your own weapon like that? Isn't it cool enough?"

Ruby pulls her weapon off of her back before turning it into its scythe form and saying, "Of course I love Crescent Rose! It's just, I really like to see new ones sometimes. It's like meeting new people, but without the awkward small talk and handshakes and them judging you for wearing a skirt in the middle of Winter."

Yang just chuckles at her sister's reasoning before pulling her red hood over her face and saying, "Oh Ruby, come on. Why don't you try to make some new friends or something? People aren't that scary."

Ruby quickly fixes her hood before asking, "Why would I need more friends when I have the two of you here?"

Yang quickly grabs Sapphire's hand and says, "Well, Sapphire and I have a few things to do. Gotta go! Catch up later! See ya, bye!", while rushing off in a hurry.

Ruby's left speechless and spinning in confusion.

As they run off, Sapphire looks over at Yang and asks, "Are you sure that was a good idea? She's still a kid ya know."

Yang just grins before saying, "Ruby's smart. She'll probably figure something out, and besides, if she can't find her own way, she'll just have to ask someone, right? That's basically a guaranteed friendship, right?"

* * *

Back with Ruby, she's still spinning from Sapphire and her sister both ditching her so quickly. As she's spinning, she shouts, "Wait! Where are our dorms? Do we even have dorms!? Where do I go now!? Ohhhh, what am I doing..?" But as she falls, she happens to fall into some luggage, knocking over a few cases as she falls.

"What are you doing!?", a white haired girl exclaims as she turns to see what Ruby has just done.

Ruby is still in a daze from her sister leaving her and all she can reply with is a "huh?"

The girl picks up one of the cases and inside are multiple bottles filled with what looks like colorful sand. The girl pulls out a red bottle and says, "This is Dust, mined and purified by the Schnee Dust Company from the Schnee Quarry!"

Ruby's still confused due to the girl speaking so quickly, and asks, "W-what?"

The girl shows her the bottle and says, "What are you, braindead!? Dust! Fire, water, lightning, ENERGY!", as she happens to also shake the bottle with her overly dramatic hand motions. This causes some of the red Dust to escape the bottle and form a small cloud around the two. As the Dust starts to tickle Ruby's nose, the girl asks, "Hello!? Are you even listening!? Is any of this sinking in to your thick head!? What do you have to say for yourself, you idiot!?", as she continues to accidentally shake the bottle and send more Dust into the air. This last amount of Dust is enough to push Ruby's nostrils over the edge and cause her to sneeze.

The sneeze has explosive consequences, literally, as the energy from her sneeze triggers the Dust, causing an explosion that engulfs the two girls entirely and sending the bottle of Dust to go flying into the air. As the dust from the explosion begins to dissipate, the white haired girl shouts, "Unbelievable! How could you be so reckless!? This was exactly the kind of thing I was warning you about! You should've listened to my warnings, you dunce!"

Ruby starts tapping her finger tips together while saying, "I'm really REALLY sorry!"

"What is a complete and utter DOLT doing at a combat school anyways!? And aren't you a little young and inexperienced to be attending Beacon!?", she replies in a hostile manner.

Ruby is barely able to say, "Well, um I..", before the girl cuts her off by saying, "This isn't an ordinary combat school, idiot! It's not just sparring and practice you know! We're here to fight MONSTERS, so watch where you're going next time!"

Ruby quickly snaps back with, "Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess!", and to her surprise another voice corrects her, saying, "It 'Heiress' actually." She turns to see a girl with black hair wearing mainly black and white with a black bow on the top of her head, who's holding the bottle of red Dust in her left hand and a closed book in her other standing behind her. The girl glances over to the 'Heiress' and says, "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest generators of energy propellant in the world."

The white haired girl grins and says, "Finally, a bit of recognition around here!"

The girl with the bow finishes by saying, "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

Weiss is brought aback by this claim and shouts, "I- How dare you!? The nerve of-!", before trying to swipe the bottle out of the girl's hand.

As she goes to grab it, the bottle goes flying into the air and heads toward the school building. "What?", the three girls ask in unison before following where the bottle was going back to a boy with black hair and silver eyes standing on top of one of the street lights that line the sidewalk. "Don't forget she's apparently the worst bottle closer of all time. Like, really? With all your money you can't afford to have someone teach you how to close a damn bottle? You Schnees are pathetic.", the boy mocks her with a grin on his face as he catches the bottle as if it were floating right into his hand. They see he's dressed in black dress pants and shoes, a white dress shirt under a silver dressy vest. On his hands are gloves with pieces of metal shaped in the form of claws on the tips of his fingers.

Weiss grinds her teeth in frustration and shouts, "Give that back right this instant, you thief!"

The boy grins at her and says, "Thief? I'm only closing this bottle for you since you're apparently to incompetent to do it on your own. You should be thanking me, Snowflake." He pushes down on the cork before tossing it down to her.

She almost drops the bottle, but manages to catch it before it hits the ground. She gives a stern glare to the black haired girl and boy before storming off in a fit of frustration. As she storms off, Ruby waves to her while saying, "It was nice meeting you!" Two servants wearing sunglasses, dressed in black and white suits pick up the knocked over luggage and follow after Weiss.

Ruby just sighs and says, "I guess I'm not the only one having a bad first day." She quickly turn to the other girl and goes to ask her, "So what's your n-", but before she can finish, she sees the girl is already gone. Ruby looks up to where the boy was a second ago and sees he's also gone. Completely abandoned, Ruby falls to her knees before falling on her back and saying, "Welcome to Beacon."

* * *

Over in a maze like garden, Yang and Sapphire are walking together. "Aaaaand we're lost.", Yang says as they both come to a stop at a fork in the path.

"Yeah, this is the third time we've seen this same set of bushes. It's a nice view and all, but after seeing it so many times it loses its wow factor.", Sapphire adds as she glances around, trying to figure out which way the two originally came in from.

Yang looks around and says, "Well, we'll just head back the way we came and go around instead. I think it's this way.", before turning around and going back the way they came.

Sapphire grabs her wrist, stopping her, before saying, "I'm pretty sure the way out is this way.", and pointing toward the path to her right.

"I'm pretty sure I know where we came from. Let's just go back this way. It'll probably be quicker.", Yang replies with a slight hint of doubt.

They both start down the path that they came from before hearing a boy say, "You're going the wrong way." They both turn to see a boy who looks like a wandering swordsman from some Japanese manga. He's wearing wooden sandals with white puffy pants that are held up by a cloth tied into a bow, a grey v neck like shirt that has fairly long sleeves. Every other part of him was covered in bandage wrapping, only leaving his grey eyes for them to see.

"Huh? Are you a student here too?", Yang asks with a confused glance at the mysterious boy, to which the boy nods.

Sapphire looks the boy up and down before seeing his weapon, a strange looking katana in a grey sheath he's holding in his right hand. " _Another sword user?_ ", she thinks to herself with a curious look on her face.

"Are you two perhaps lost?", the boy asks them, walking up to them without any hesitation.

"What gave it away?", Yang asks as she rubs the back of her head nervously.

The boy gives the two girls a cold look before saying, "You two have been going in circles for a while."

"Y-you saw that!?", Sapphire asks, completely embarrassed by her sense of direction.

The boy nods before saying, "I simply thought you two were admiring the flowers in this garden. But now it's almost time for the induction ceremony to begin, so I thought I would warn you two that we were running out of time."

"The induction ceremony!? We're gonna miss it!", Yang shouts in a panic before frantically looking for the way out.

"Yang, calm down! If we panic we won't get out of this place!", Sapphire says, trying to calm Yang down.

The boy glances over at one of the rosebush walls before saying, "When finding the exit becomes near impossible, one must make their own exit." The boy places his hand on the grip of his sword, causing the two girls to raise their eyebrows at him. He draws his blade in one quick motion and as they hear the metal clank as he returns the blade to its sheath, a chunk of the nearby rosebush wall is sliced to pieces. He walks through the newly formed exit before saying, "The ceremony is to take place in the Amphitheater. I'll guide you two there."

The two girls quickly follow after the boy, and Sapphire asks, "So, do you know where this 'Amphitheater' is by chance?" The boy nods his head and simply continues walking as they follow.

"Well, do you have a name, bud?", Yang asks him as she glances over at him.

"Ash.", he quickly replies with a glance over at her.

"Ash? Well Ash, I'm Yang and this is Sapphire.", Yang replies as points to herself then Sapphire.

He simply nods before saying, "It's pleasant to meet the two of you."

As they continue to walk, the come across a large pair of doors that are left wide open, leading into the room. They see it's a large room with a small stage that only has a single stand with a microphone on it. "This is the location.", the boy says, earning a raised eyebrow from Sapphire.

"Are you not from around here Ash?", she asks with a puzzled look on her face.

The boy looks over to her and replies with yet another nod before saying, "I'm from a small temple of monks who live in the mountainous area of southern Anima. We used our own language there, so getting used to this new way of communications has been... difficult.", pausing to try to find the right word to describe his situation.

Yang wraps an arm around his neck and pulls him into a slight choke hold before saying, "It's alright. So you're a little different and speak a little funny, so what? You seem cool enough. How about we all hangout later and you can show Sapphire here some of those cool sword skills that you have going on there?"

Ash seems confused by Yang's positive attitude toward him, but seems to quickly brush it off before saying, "We should enter. This area seems to be slowly losing available space."


	6. The Slumber Party

As they enter the large building, they're greeted by the sight of many new students waiting for the ceremony to begin. "Wow, there are more people here than I expected there to be.", Yang says in aw of the amount of people who're also attending Beacon.

Sapphire doesn't seem surprised and replies with, "This is one of the best schools for training Huntsmen and Huntresses. It should be expected of such a place."

They make their way through the ocean of people before Yang looks at her scroll to see that it's a minute before the ceremony is set to start. She looks around for a second before asking, "Does anyone see Ruby?"

"Nope, no Ruby.", Sapphire replies as she glances to her left.

Yang turns around and asks, "Do you see her anywhere, Ash?", only to see he's already gone. She looks around again and asks, "Where did he go? I didn't even notice he left."

"Eh, we'll probably see him again.", Sapphire suggests as she glances back at the entrance to see a girl dressed in all red with Vomit Boy. "Hey Ruby, over here!", Sapphire shouts as she waves her arms, trying to get the girl's attention. When the girl turns her head, they see it's Ruby and she smiles. They see her say something to Vomit Boy before rushing over to their side.

"So, making friends with Vomit Boy, huh?", Yang asks with a smug grin.

Ruby quickly punches her sister's arm with all her small person strength before saying, "Shut up, you! He was the only one who was nice to me all morning!"

"Come on, it couldn't 've been that bad.", Sapphire replies, earning a glare from the red hooded girl.

"First, you two ditched me. Then I bumped into some crummy girl and literally fell over her luggage. Then she yelled at me and called me names. Then I EXPLODED! Then she yelled at me AGAIN! And after that, everyone left me again and I wanted to cry really REALLY BAD!", Ruby explains as she counts off the events on her left fingers.

Ruby quickly leaps into Yang's arms when she hears a familiar voice shout, "YOU!"

"OH NO, IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!", Ruby exclaims in fear as she trembles in Yang's arms, causing Yang's and Sapphire's eyes to widen in disbelief.

"You're just lucky you didn't blow us off the side of the cliff, you dunce.", Weiss scolds her as the small girl hides her face in Yang's shoulder.

"Oh my Gods, she really exploded.", Sapphire says in disbelief.

"Ruby.", Yang says to her, causing the young girl to hop out of her sister's arms and onto her own two feet to defend herself.

She tries to defend herself by saying, "It was an accident, Weiss! Honest!", but is met with a pamphlet only an inch from her nose. It says, " _Dust for Dummies_ ", on the top and has a picture of a man holding a Dust crystal in his right hand while scratching his head in confusion with the other. "What's this?", Ruby asks with a confused look on her face.

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damage sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages our customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field.", Weiss recites as if it were a slogan ingrained into her memory.

"Uh, what?", Ruby replies with an even further confused look on her face.

Weiss glares at the young girl and asks, "Are you really sorry about what you did today?"

Ruby nods and replies with, "More than anything!", and Weiss shoves the pamphlet into the small girl's hands before telling her, "Then to start making things up to me, you can read this and never speak to me EVER AGAIN."

"Listen, it seems like you two just got off on the wrong foot. How about you two start over and try to be friends, okay?", Yang suggests with a slight smile.

Ruby quickly agrees with the idea before saying, "Great idea sis!", and extending her hand out to Weiss while saying, "Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out sometime? We can go shopping for school supplies."

Weiss replies with an overly sarcastic smile before saying, "Yeah, we can be total BFFs and paint our nails and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there.", and point at Vomit Boy in the distance.

Ruby is rejoiced by Weiss' claim, not seeing the clear sarcasm before her, and happily asks, "Wow, really!?", only to be rejected with a stern and emotionless, "No.", from Weiss.

Their conversation is cut short by the sound of a microphone being turned on. They all look up at the stage to see Professor Ozpin standing on the stage by himself in front of the microphone. He pushes up his glasses by the bridge with two of his right fingers before saying, "I'll keep this brief." This causes all of those who weren't already paying attention to turn their heads to the green haired man. Once he feels that he has everyone's attention, he says, "You've all travel a great distance to reach this point. Not in physical distance per say, but in hard work and dedication. You all in some way desire the same end goal, to become a Huntsman or Huntress and live your life as you see fit. So, you all came to this school in search of knowledge. Knowledge that would help you achieve your goal of becoming a warrior who'd defeat the monsters of the darkness and bring about a better world. But I look amongst you all and only see wasted energy. You seek purpose and direction in your lives and think this knowledge will free you of this burden. Know that your time here at Beacon Academy will prove that knowledge alone can only carry you so far. It is up to each and every one of you to find the first step toward finding your purpose, and take it."

As he finishes his speech, he goes to walk off the stage, but is stopped when Glynda Goodwitch steps in front of him and gestures for him to get closer for her to tell him something. He lowers his head down to her level to better hear her whispering before seeming to snicker to himself and heading back to the microphone. He leans into the microphone and says, "I've just been informed that uniforms are still on their way here, and they won't arrive for at least three whole days. For now, students are permitted to wear their combat gear on school grounds in place of their uniform until they are delivered to you. And, Welcome to Beacon."

Ozpin takes a sip from his mug before calmly walking off the stage, letting Glynda finish up the ceremony for him. She walks up to the microphone and adjusts it so it's at her height level before saying, "You all will gather in the ballroom for the night. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"Does he always talk like that?", Sapphire asks with a slightly disgruntled look on her face.

Ruby is a bit spooked before saying, "Yeah, he's usually that odd when he speaks."

Suddenly, Vomit Boy walks over to them and says to Weiss, "I'm a natural blonde, you know.", causing her to facepalm.

* * *

Later that night, all the students are gathered in the ballroom and are laying down sleeping bags as they prepare to go to sleep for the night. Ruby is laying on her sleeping bag as she starts writing a letter, dressed in a black tank-top, white pajama pants that have pink roses on them, and a black eye mask with red Grimm eyes on the front strapped to the top of her head. Sapphire is laying on her sleeping bag to Ruby's left, looking up at the ceiling with her hands behind her head while wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a blue sweater. Where her black eyepatch once was is now a white bandage made of a soft cotton like fabric. Yang lands on the sleeping bag to Ruby's right, dressed in only a pair of black short shorts and an orange tank-top with her symbol on the front, while saying, "It's like a big slumber party!"

As Ruby continues her writing, she replies with, "I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys though.", causing Yang to give her a sinister grin.

"I know I do.", Yang replies before giving a soft purr when she sees all the boys topless. She then sees Ash again, but he seems to be wearing the same thing he was earlier, as he sits on top of his sleeping bag with his legs crossed and his eyes closed in almost a meditation position. Before she can ask what he's doing, she sees Vomit Boy in a blue onesie and starts to giggle as she covers her mouth, trying to contain her laughter.

Sapphire glances over at her and asks, "What? What's so funny?", causing to which the blonde simply points at Vomit Boy. She glances over at him with her one good eye before quickly sitting up to get a better look. She can't help but laugh when she sees his matching blue rabbit slippers with bunny ears. Their laughter causes Ruby's pencil to fall out of her hands, drawing a line down her paper.

"Could you guys keep it down? I'm trying to write.", Ruby asks as she aggressively erases something on the letter. The two girls calm down before looking to Ruby.

"What'cha writing sis?", Yang asks as she crawls over to her to see what she's writing.

Sapphire does the same and when she sees it, she asks, "A letter? Who's it for?"

Ruby smiles and replies with, "It's just a letter to my friends back in Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Awww, that's so cuuuuute~", Yang mocks in her usual big sister fashion, earning her a pillow slap to the face.

"Shut up. I didn't get to take my friends to school with me! It weird not knowing anyone but you two here.", Ruby says to her with a stern glare before returning to her letter.

Yang and Sapphire look to each other before looking back to Ruby, seeing she's actually quite upset about this.

"What about Vomit Boy? You guys came to the introduction ceremony together, right?", Sapphire asks causing Ruby to sigh.

"Yeah, that's Jaune, Jaune Arc. He's nice.", Ruby replies as she continues to write.

"See, plus one friend! That's a fifty percent increase!", Yang explains enthusiastically.

Ruby continues to write as she says, "I'm pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero."

Sapphire lets out a slight snicker before saying, "There's no such thing as a 'negative friend', you just made one friend and one enemy."

Ruby glares over at her before chucking another pillow, this time hitting Sapphire in the face with it. Ruby puts the letter in her sleeping bag before laying down on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Yang just lets out a chuckle before saying, "It's only been one day, Sis. You have friends all around you here, you just haven't met them yet. Just give it some time."

As Yang finishes her pep-talk, they hear the sound of someone lighting a match. The three girls look to see a girl dressed in all black lighting some candles. She's dressed in a black and white night gown with her usual black bow on the top of her head. The girl picks up her book off the ground before starting to read it. "It's her again.", Ruby says as she recognizes the girl.

"You know her?", Yang asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Sapphire glances over to Ruby and asks, "You didn't catch her in your explosion earlier, did you?"

"No! She was there this morning though. She left before I could catch her name.", Ruby replies as she looks over at the girl with a curious look.

Yang smiles and suggests, "Welp, let's go say hi!" She gets up and grabs her little sister's arm, pulling her to her feet as she starts heading straight for the girl in black.

"B-but what about taking my time? Yang!?", Ruby asks her sister in a panic.

Yang just smiles before saying, "And there's no time like the present. Come on!", and continuing to drag her sister along.

Sapphire can't help but smiles at this sight of her friend pull Ruby along like a rag doll before laying down for the short moment of peace.

* * *

On the other side of the room, Jaune is sitting down on his sleeping bag while doing a connect the dots puzzle from a puzzle book he brought from home. As he finishes, it forms the shape of a bunny and he smiles, seeming proud of what he has accomplished. He's suddenly interrupted when someone grabs the book out of his hands as they say, "What do we have here?"

As he looks up, he says, "Hey, that's mine!", and sees that the person who took his book is a large muscular guy with orange hair wearing only brown sweatpants.

"What are ya gonna do about it, Loser?", the bully asks, and Jaune instantly recognizes who it is.

"Hey, you're the same guy who shoved my head in the trashcan this morning!", Jaune exclaims in frustration.

"Vomit Boy! I barely recognized you! Now that I get a better look at you, you were probably better off in that trashcan, right fellas?", the bully replies before looking over his shoulder to three more guys who all nod. Jaune stands up and tries to grab his book, but the bully just lifts the book out of Jaune's reach with his longer arms and superior height. The bully laughs and says to Jaune, "Come on, you have to jump for it." Jaune tries to jump up and grab it, but the bully lifts it slightly higher up, causing Jaune to miss.

The bully continues to laugh until he sees something casting a shadow over him. He groans and says, "What the hell do you want?", before turning around to see another boy, who's actually taller and more muscular than he is with lighter orange hair standing behind him. The bully simply gulps at the sight of someone that tall before hearing a deep growl come from the mountain of a boy. The boy reaches out a hand, causing the bully to drop Jaune's book and head back to his friends sides, saying, "This isn't worth it."

Jaune's just left in shock, afraid of what the giant might do if he happens to do anything to irritate him. He's surprised however when the boy squats down and picks up the book. He hands it to Jaune and says, "This is what you were trying to get, right?" Jaune simply nods before politely taking it from him. "What's your name bud?", the boy asks.

"J-Jaune, Jaune Arc...", he replies nervously.

"Jaune, don't let people like that push you around. You have to stand up for yourself when it comes to people like that. If you let them push you around, that's only giving them more power.", the boy says to him as he turns to walk back to his sleeping bag.

Jaune's left speechless by what the giant just said to him and struggles to ask him, "W-what's your name?"

He glances back at Jaune and simply says, "Persi.", before continuing to walk to his sleeping bag.

* * *

In Vale's highest security prison, Roman Torchwich is sitting in a cell without his hat or cane. He hears an explosion from outside and smiles. The once quiet prison is filled with the sounds of screaming guards and gunfire. After a few minutes, the noise dies down and it's silent once more. The door to the his prison block is opened and he hears the sound of loud heels clicking against the concrete. He just chuckles to himself before saying, "You're late."

He looks up to see a girl standing in front of the door to his cell, twirling a set of keys on her right index finger while holding his cane and hat in her other hand. "What took you so long, Neo?", he asks with a sly smile as he stands up and she unlocks his cell. As the door swings open she tosses him his hat and cane, which he easily catches. He puts on his hat and before he can say anything else, Neo starts to cough, covering her mouth with her left hand as she does so.

"Neo!", he shouts in a panic as he rushes over to her side. She uses her umbrella as a cane to support herself as a pained look comes across her face. Roman groans as he throws her other arm over her shoulder and saying, "Come on, let's go home."


	7. The First Step

It's early in the morning at Beacon Academy and many of the students are getting ready for the first task as Junior Huntsmen, initiation. Most of the students are gathered in the locker room, mentally preparing themselves for the coming mission. Jaune, however, is looking at his schedule while looking around for his locker. "I know I didn't put my stuff in locker 636 yesterday. I would've remembered counting that high! Why does this have to happen to me?", he says as he looks around, hoping for some sign of where he put his sword and shield.

In his confusion, he bumps into someone. When he looks up, he sees it was the guy who was mocking him last night, only this time he has a large mace in his right hand, with its head resting on his shoulder, and is covered in a fair amount of armor. "Hmph, watch where you're going, Vomit Boy.", he says with a snarl.

"I-I'm sorry.", Jaune replies, afraid of angering the bully any further.

The bully suddenly gets a large grin on his face as he grabs Jaune by his chest plate and shoves him in an open locker. Jaune tries to fight back, but is beyond helpless against the bully's raw strength. As he slams the locker shut, locking the helpless boy inside, he laughs to himself before saying, "Your name's Jaune, right?"

"Hey, this isn't funny! Let me out of here!", Jaune begs through the vent on the front of the locker.

However, the bully just chuckles to himself before saying, "What are ya talking about? This is hilarious! Weaklings like you just make my day."

Jaune goes to say something, but he's cut off when they both hear someone say, "Great, another pig-headed jock without any class. Just what we needed."

They both look to see a black haired boy dressed in black dress pants and shoes, a white dress shirt under a silver dressy vest. Compared to the bully, the boy's a bit on the short side, which causes the bully to laugh at him.

"What's your name, tough guy?", he asks as he looks at the black haired boy with a grin.

"Reginald, Reginald Wolfe. Now how about you take your little hammer outside and play with some rocks or something. A meaningless task for a meaningless human-being.", the black haired boy replies as he adjusts his gloves.

The bully grinds his teeth before saying, "You talk a big game, punk. How about I crush you like the bug you are?"

Reginald just grins before saying, "Like some brute like you could beat anything other than an unarmed girl."

"Girl?", Jaune says, slightly insulted by that comment. The bully finally snaps and swings his large mace down at Reginald, but before it can crack open his skull, it stops. It stops completely in its tracks, and as the bully get a confused look on his face, he thinks, " _What? I know I hit something. Is this his aura? His semblance maybe?_ "

Reginald chuckles at the bully's confusion before saying, "You're nothing more than some animal. Come at me when you've figured out how to use that weapon of yours." As he finishes his insult, he flicks his left wrist to the left, causing the bully's mace to go flying across the locker room. It bounces off a locker and flies high up into the air, where it hits one of the chandeliers, causing one of the gems from its base to fall out. This gem then falls straight on the bully's forehead, as he was watching in complete aw as his weapon went flying across the room. He's left holding his forehead in pain before his mace falls on his foot, causing him to let out a loud, pain-filled shriek.

Reginald just grins at his handy-work before walking over to the locker holding Jaune captive. He tries to unlock the locker, but it's protected by a passcode. Reginald just sighs before saying, "This might take a minute. Just hold on, I'll get you out."

Jaune smiles at his kindness before looking over to the bully. His eyes widen and he shouts at Reginald, saying, "Behind you!" Reginald simply dodges to his left as the bully's mace meets the locker with a loud crack. Sparks fly from the console before the locker door pops open.

Reginald laughs to himself before saying, "That was a close one. You should really watch where you're swinging that thing. You might end up breaking something."

The bully finally tires of Reginald's mocking and simply leaves, saying, "This isn't over.", as he storms off.

Jaune just falls out of the locker, mentally exhausted by what he just watched happen. "You alright?", Reginald asks him as he walks over to Jaune, to whom he extends his hand to help off the floor.

Jaune just looks up at him and asks, "Are you crazy? That guy was like two of you!" Reginald just chuckles at his response before gesturing for him to take his hand.

Jaune grabs his hand and Reginald pulls him to his feet while saying, "He's tall, I'll give him that, but that's about all he has on me. I could take a punk like him in my sleep." Reginald looks around at the nearby lockers and says, "You're still missing your weapon, right? I'll help you look for it."

* * *

Across the locker room, Sapphire is walking up to another girl from behind. This girl has long red hair done up in a large ponytail with an outfit designed like that of a Greek warrior. "Long time no see, Pyrrha.", Sapphire says as she finally gets close to her.

The girl quickly turns around and smiles at her before saying, "Ah, Sapphire. It's been a while. So you're also attending Beacon?"

Sapphire simply nods before saying, "Yep, I managed to convince my parents to let me go here. But I'm surprised you chose to come to Beacon over going to Heaven."

Pyrrha looks away nervously and says, "Well, I visited Heaven Academy, but I'm afraid it wasn't as interesting as Beacon."

"To think two champions would both be attending Beacon Academy. How grand.", a girl says out of nowhere, causing the two to check where the voice is coming from. They see Weiss walking up to them with her rapier on her left hip.

"Ah, Miss Schnee, the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. I must say, seeing you here is a surprise as well.", Pyrrha replies with a kind smile aimed towards the heiress.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't attend Atlas Academy. Wouldn't that have been closer to home?", Sapphire adds, causing Weiss to sigh.

Weiss quickly changes the subject by asking them, "So, have you two taken any thought as to which team you would like to be on? I'm sure everyone's just dying to have strong and well-known individuals like yourselves on their teams."

"Well, there are a few people I'd like to see on my team, but I'll just take whatever I can get.", Sapphire replies, causing Weiss to look at her in confusion.

"I was just planning on letting the chips fall where they may.", Pyrrha replies with her usual kind smile as she retrieves her weapon and shield from her locker.

Weiss just smiles at this before saying, "Maybe the three of us can be on a team together?"

"That doesn't sound terrible.", Sapphire replies and Pyrrha adds, "That would be grand."

Weiss gets an evil grin on her face as she thinks, " _This will be perfect! Two of the strongest girls in class lead by the smartest girl in class! We'll be unstoppable! Nobody will get between me and my goals now!_ "

Right as she finishes her thought, she's pulled back into reality by the sound of someone saying, "You know who else is great? Me, Jaune Arc." She turns to see Jaune acting all cool as he leans with one hand placed against a locker, looking straight at Weiss as he completely ignores Sapphire and Pyrrha.

"Great, it's you.", Weiss says without a hint of enjoyment in her voice.

Jaune just grins, not seeing her blatant sarcasm, before saying, "Hey there, Snow Angel. I've been hearing rumors about teams and I was thinking the two of us would make a good one. what do ya say?"

Pyrrha interrupts him by saying, "Actually, I've been hearing rumors that the teams are made up of four students."

Jaune turns to her and says, "Well Hotstuff, play your cards right and maybe you'll end up on the winning team.", as confidently as possible.

Sapphire smiles at Jaune's confident nature and says, "Aren't you just the poster boy for confidence today? Didn't you just have your head stuck in a trashcan yesterday?"

Jaune doesn't seem phased in the slightest by her comment and replies with, "I got distracted by your beautiful eye, it seems, and in that instance, someone thought it would be funny to shove my head into that trashcan. I assure you, it was just a fluke.", earning a slight giggle from the girls as a confident grin comes across his face.

Weiss gets between Jaune and the two warrior girls before putting her arms up between then, stopping him from getting any closer to them. "Jaune, was it? Do you even have the slightest clue as to who these two are?", Weiss asks in a scolding tone.

Jaune just smiles down at the angry Snow White and says, "Not in the slightest."

Weiss points to Pyrrha first and says, "This is Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha waves happily at Jaune and says, "Hello, Jaune."

She then points to Sapphire and says, "And this is Sapphire Cobolt."

"It's nice to meet you, Jaune.", Sapphire says to him with a nod.

Jaune raises an eyebrow and says, "Never heard of 'em."

This causes Weiss to growl under her breath before saying, "Pyrrha won the Mistral's regional tournament three years in a row. And Sapphire won the Vale regional tournament two years in a row. They faced off in one of the largest tournaments for hunters in training not even a year ago at the Junior Remnicient."

"Never heard of those either.", Jaune simply replies, causing Weiss to flair up with frustration.

Suddenly, Reginald walks over to him, leaning over the boy's shoulder as he tells him, "Jaune...the busty redhead is from that shitty cereal with all those marshmallows, remember?"

It suddenly clicks in Jaune's head and he exclaims, "You're that girl on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Pyrrha reluctantly smiles at his comment and says, "Yeah, it's pretty cool. The cereal isn't very healthy for you though."

Reginald then points at Sapphire and says, "And she's the only one to beat Pyrrha here in a fight throughout her whole life as a fighter."

"Ohhhh, so she's probably pretty strong, right?", Jaune replies as he looks over to his new friend, and Reginald nods in response.

Then Reginald points at Weiss and says, "Then there's this special little snowflake, Weiss Schnee: the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Her achievements are...well...nothing really."

Weiss' reaction starts with just being irritated by Reginald's presence to furious with his comment. "That means nothing coming from a thief!", Weiss exclaims as she turns her back on him.

He chuckles to himself before saying, "At least I'm able to close a bottle and not get myself blown to the moon and back."

She quickly turns back to him and shouts, "That wasn't my fault! That was that dumb little red idiot's fault!"

"Always throwing the blame onto someone else, huh? I guess that's to be expected of a Schnee, huh? Can't let the world see your faults so you pawn them off as someone else's and hope nobody will be crazy enough to stand up against it?", Reginald begins to go on, causing Weiss to start to back away slowly. "And look at you now, you're already scared of what's going to happen, aren't you? You're afraid that these three are finally going to see you for what you really are, aren't you?", he continues to question her as he slowly walks toward her, keeping the space between them relatively the same, while not making it look like he's going to attack her physically.

As she continues to back up, she runs into Pyrrha, who looks down at her with a concerned look. "Pyrrha, a little help here?", Weiss asks desperately, causing Pyrrha to glare at Reginald. She quickly launches her javelin at him with all her might, but he manages to dodge at the last second, causing it to fly by him at a remarkable speed.

Reginald only laughs to himself, causing the three girls to look at him, concerned for both themselves and his mental state. He smiles at them before saying, "I was only teasing you, Snowflake. No need to get all defensive like that. That attack could've killed someone, you know."

Suddenly, they hear someone call out, "Guys, a little help here?", and they turn to see that Jaune is pinned to the wall by Pyrrha's javelin, the blade stabbing through the hood on his hoodie, pinning the boy to the concrete wall behind him.

As the group walks over to the helpless boy, they hear Glynda over the speakers call out, "All first year students are to meet at the Cliff for initiation. I repeat, all first year students are to meet at the Cliff for initiation."

Weiss walks off in a huff, still upset about all of Reginald's accusations, leaving everyone behind without a word.

Sapphire looks over to Pyrrha and says, "Come on Pyrrha, we should hurry. I heard that Glynda isn't the kind of teacher that likes her students being even a second late for anything." Sapphire walks past Jaune while saying, "Thanks for the complement, Jaune. I hope to see you again."

And as Pyrrha retrieves her javelin and follows Sapphire to the Cliff, she tells Jaune, "It was nice meeting you, Jaune."

As he slides to the ground, he replies in a defeated tone, "Likewise."

Yang and Ruby walk up to the two boys and Ruby asks, "What was that all about?"

"Lady Killer over here seems to 've bitten off more than he can chew.", Reginald replies with a sigh.

"Yeah, we saw that. Now who are you?", Yang adds as Ruby remembers seeing Reginald before.

"Hey, you were there when I met Weiss!", Ruby exclaims as she points at him.

"Good to see you too, Little Red. Now, who's your friend?", Reginald replies before turning his attention to Yang.

"Oh, um, this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long. Yang, this is... who are you again?", Ruby introduces the two and Reginald just grins.

"Reginald Wolfe, it's a pleasure to meet someone as beautiful as yourself, Yang.", he replies with a bow as he puts one hand behind his back and takes Yang's right hand with his other hand.

Yang just rolls her eyes and pulls her hand free from Reginald's grasp. She then looks over to her sister before telling her, "Come on, Ruby. We should get moving. We don't want to be late to initiation. We'll see you later, Jaune."

As they walk off, Ruby turns back to Jaune, who's finally standing up, and waves to him while shouting, "Good luck Jaune!", before rushing to catch up to her sister.

* * *

At the edge of a large cliff, Ozpin looks out toward a large forest that seems to go on for miles in every direction. He takes a sip from his mug before saying, "This forest will be the first of many trials that you'll face as future huntsmen." He turns around to see many new students standing there in a perfect line from left to right, listening attentively to every word he has to say. He takes two steps toward the students while saying, "It is filled with many creatures of Grimm. Some you may have seen before while others are so rare they are only found in this forest. Don't be afraid to destroy everything that stands in your way, or you will die."

The thought of dying doesn't seem to phase any of the students too much, with the exception of Jaune who gulps loudly as he hears this, and Glynda steps forward to continue the explanation. "We've heard that there have been rumors circulating about teams. Well, let me put an end to these rumors. You will all be receiving partners, today.", Glynda begins to explain and Ruby lets out a worried moan. "You will be partnered with this person for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is best that you're partnered with someone you are compatible with.", Glynda continues, causing Ruby to moan slightly louder.

Ozpin finishes the explanation by saying, "The first person you make direct eye contact with will be your partner for the rest of your time here at Beacon.", causing Ruby's jaw to drop in disbelief.

"WHAT!?", Ruby shouts in her mind as she hears this.

Before she can raise her hand to ask about this rule, Glynda continues on with her explanation, saying, "Once you've found your partner, you are to head for the ruins located at the center of the forest. Once there, you and your partner will choose a single ruin to take with you. After obtaining your ruin, you both will receive a location to bring your ruin."

"Once you've made it to that location, you are to protect your ruin at all costs. You will be graded based on multiple factors, but if you lose your relic or don't obtain a relic or partner, you will fail and be sent back home. And neither I nor Glynda will be interfering in this test. You all are to rely mainly on your partner's power and your own.", Ozpin adds before taking a sip from his mug.

There are murmurs through the crowd before Glynda's glare suddenly quiets them all. "Now, are there any questions?", Ozpin asks as he glances through the faces in the crowd.

As Jaune raises his hand, he says, "Yeah, um Sir, I have a question."

"No questions? Good. Then we can begin the test right away.", Ozpin says, not hearing Jaune at all. As Ozpin presses a button on his scroll, Reginald is launched high into the air.

"Professor Ozpin, you forgot to explain how they'll be sent into the forest.", Glynda points out as Persi is sent flying, causing Ozpin to chuckle to himself.

"That's what I was going to ask!", Jaune exclaims in frustration as Ash is launched into the forest.

"Oh, it seems I did. Well, in short, you will be catapulted into the forest by those plates you were all told to stand on. Hopefully you've all already figured out your landing strategies.", Ozpin says as Sapphire and Pyrrha are sent flying into the air.

"D-did you forget to hand out parachutes too? Or am I the only one that didn't get one?", Jaune asks nervously as the bully who tormented him earlier is sent flying into the air.

Ozpin raises an eyebrow before saying, "Parachutes? No no no, you all have to make your own landing strategies without any help from the two of us."

Yang looks to her little sister, who seems to be smiling at her, before nodding and putting on a pair of sunglasses. As she looks forward, Yang is sent flying into the air with her sister following close behind. "And that, what exactly is a landing strateg-", Jaune barely manages to say right before getting launched into the air himself. As Jaune screams out in fear as he's sent hundreds of feet into the air, Glynda and Ozpin turn and look up at the first years students falling straight into the forest.

Ozpin simply smiles and says, "This is going to be an interesting year."


	8. The Emerald Forest

Up high in the air, above the Emerald Forest, soon to be students are falling quickly toward the ground below. As Sapphire starts falling toward the forest below, she draws one of her swords into her right hand and slices through an unkindness of Nevermore. She tucks and rolls as she lands, preserving her momentum as she carries it with her as she runs.

Persi comes crashing down from the sky, he cleaves his way through multiple trees before coming to a dramatic stop as he lands perfectly on one knee, looking like a superhero as he lands. He transforms his axe into its shotgun form as he scans the area for Grimm, and finds the area to be clear for the moment.

As he's scouts out the environment, Reginald is starting to fall from the sky, but he has a plan. He quickly weaves his fingers back and forth to create a parachute made of threads. With that, he gently floats down toward the ground before dispersing the threads, causing the parachute to fall apart.

As Reginald lands on the ground, elsewhere, Ash is leaping from tree to tree as he quickly descends toward the ground. He continues through the forest, keeping an eye out for Grimm along the way, before suddenly stopping almost randomly. As he quickly places his hand on the handle of his sword, three Beowolves leap out of the nearby bushes towards him. In a single motion, he ends up past the Grimm with his sword slightly drawn out of its sheath. As he sheaths his blade, the Beowolves all come to an abrupt stop before quickly falling to pieces. And as their corpses start to disintegrate, he continues through the forest looking for his objective. As he's running, he suddenly stops when he encounters a large river. "A river? Where did this come from? These trees must've blocked more than I anticipated. I'll have to plan my route accordingly.", Ash says as he follows the current down stream.

* * *

Back at the top of the cliff, both Ozpin and Glynda are watching the events of the initiation unfold in front of them, or so it seems at first glance. Ozpin sees a boy on his screen walking in Ruby's general direction and presses a button on the screen. Quickly, the terrain around both Ruby and the boy change, causing them to head in opposite directions.

Glynda notices the smile on his face before sighing and asking, "What's the point of using the relics if we manipulate the outcome every time? I really don't understand you sometimes, Professor Ozpin."

"It changes how they see their grouping, Glynda. If we simply place two people together and tell them that we want them together, they will call us selfish and controlling. But if we do it this way, they will see it as fate for the two of them to be partners, thus creating a greater, and deeper bond between partners and in turn, better improving their team as a whole.", Ozpin explains as he focuses on manipulating the forest how he sees fit. He switches his screen and sees Yang fighting multiple Ursai and Blake running nearby. He changes the terrain around Blake, causing her to head right toward Yang and notice the Ursai attacking the blonde.

As the stealthy ninja girl takes down the final Ursa after Yang takes down the other with a rage filled punch, they become a pair. He turns to Glynda, who seems to be watching Ash on her screen and asks, "Is she near him yet?"

"NO! I'm more of a teacher and Huntress than a chess player.", Glynda replies as she tries to make something happen by pressing multiple buttons. This causes Ash to be redirected into a hoard of Boarbatusks, which he quickly dispatches without any real effort. "He keeps going through them. Does he ever stop?", Glynda mutters in frustration, causing Ozpin to let out a slight chuckle before switching his screen over to Ash.

"Then we'll have to up the difficulty then.", he replies before pressing another button on his screen. This causes the terrain ahead of Ash to change into a thicker forest, leaving very little room to move around. Ash suddenly stops and looks around as he enters the thicker part of the forest. Ozpin presses one more button and Ash hears a rumble in the darker part of the forest. He seems to glare into the darkness before retreating up into the trees.

As he does so, he dodges a giant black mass heading straight for him, a large gorilla like Grimm with bones covering its chest and sharp fangs for teeth. Ozpin glances over to Glynda and says, "That should hold him for a minute. Now let's see about getting his partner there before he deals with that Beringel." As he turns away from Glynda, he looks back at his screen before changing the screen to see Persi.

* * *

In the forest, Persi is walking at a decent pace, staying on high alert at all times with his shotgun ready to blow a hole in whatever pops out at him. He hears the sound of something stepping on a leaf and quickly turns to see a spider like Grimm, around the size of a soccer ball, and blows it to hell and back. "Great, Aggromantulai are in here too. Why did it have to be spiders?", he says to himself reluctantly before turning back to his path.

He suddenly sees three more tiny spider Grimm crawling toward him, which he quickly shoots, sending their tiny legs flying into the air. A shiver goes up his spine as he looks at the limbs, disgusted. He goes to continue on his path, but stops when he hears a loud screech. He glances around with a confused look on his face before feeling the ground start to shake under his feet like an earthquake.

He turns his head to the right and his eyes widen in horror as he sees a fully grown Aggromantulai running toward him. "SHI-", he begins to shout before the Grimm shoots webbing out of its four arms. Persi manages to transform his weapon just in time to slice through the webbing, saving himself from the monster's trap. He isn't quick enough, however, to dodge the beast's powerful punch that it threw while he was cutting down the webbing. The punch is strong enough to send him flying back first through multiple trees before he finally stops himself by planting the blade of his axe into the ground.

Persi quickly gets to his feet, both rage and disgust filling his eyes, as he stares down the Aggromantulai. As it starts charging at him again, he transforms his axe back into its shotgun form and starts firing at the giant arachnid. After three shots however, he runs out of ammunition and needs to reload. "Damn it! I knew I should've used the barrel mag!", he thinks to himself as he quickly transforms his shotgun back into its axe form. He lets out a loud roar as he charges at the beast, but right as the melee is about to start, the beast suddenly stops in its tracks. It starts to flail violently, and Persi mutters to himself, "W-what the hell is it doing."

He sees a shimmer in the air and thinks, "Is that..Dust?", and as he squints his eyes he sees what it actually is. "Wires?", he asks himself before something leaps from one of the nearby trees and on top of the Aggromantulai.

He suddenly looks up to see Reginald standing on the Grimm's thorax, weaving thread around its large body. "I didn't expect to catch anything in this trap other than some lowly Beowolves! To think I'd catch an Aggromantulai of all things!", Reginald says as he finishes weaving his threads around. He leaps up into the branches of a nearby tree and pushes a small button on the inside of his gloves. The cylinders on the inside of each of his gloves turn and the red Dust crystals inside them start to glow as the wires start to glow a similar shade of red. In an instant, the giant spider is engulfed in flames!

The Grimm turns its attention to Reginald and launches itself at him with its four massive legs. Reginald presses another button on his right glove and he's sent zipping toward another tree, dodging the attack. The beast lands on the side of the tree and launches itself again, chasing Reginald. As Reginald lands in his new tree, he sees the beast hot on his trail. He goes to throw out more wires to stop the creature, but stops when he sees something falling from the sky.

Reginald smiles and waves goodbye to the burning Grimm right before Persi falls from the sky and slices right through the Aggromantulai's neck, severing its head from its body.

As Persi rests his axe over his shoulder, Reginald smiles down at him. Persi glances up at Reginald, who's still standing up in his tree as he makes eye contact with him. "I could've handled her, you know.", Reginald says confidently as he jumps down from his branch to Persi.

Reginald extends a hand out to Persi and says, "Reginald Wolfe."

Persi rolls his eyes before reluctantly shaking his hand and saying, "Persi Pumpkin."

* * *

Across the forest, Sapphire is running with only one of her swords drawn. She suddenly finds herself in the thicker part of the forest and glances around as she stops. "This forest is just filled with a bit of everything. Swamps, caves, now forest forests.", she says to herself in a slightly annoyed tone. In the distance, she hears a Grimm let out a loud howl. Her eye widens and she quickly places her sword in her mouth before drawing two more swords and rushing toward the sound of battle. " _If a Beringel is really in this forest, then we have to kill it quick. If we don't, it'll only bring more Grimm with it!_ ", she thinks to herself as she rushes in the direction of the howling.

When she gets there, she sees Ash dodging the Grimm's giant fists before going to slice through the beast's throat. The beast manages to block the attack with its boney armor on its right forearm before swatting at Ash. Ash manages to dodge back just in time to avoid its counter attack and retreats to a nearby tree to calculate his next move. " _It keeps using its armor to block my attacks. I'll have to get around it somehow._ ", he thinks to himself before seeing the beast rip a smaller tree out of the ground with its bare hands. The gorilla like monster chucks the tree like a spear, aiming straight for Ash.

He goes to cut through the tree in one slice, but Sapphire beats him to it as she slice it into tiny pieces with her Azure Drakes. As she passes him in the air, the two swordsmen make direct eye contact before she manages to spin around in the air and land on her feet, facing the Beringel. Through her sword, she's able to tell Ash, "We need to distract it! It's only armored on the front of its body! It's back is defenseless!"

Ash nods before saying, "Then I'll leave the execution to you then.", and rushing toward the beast. As he gets close to the Beringel, he draws his sword and unleashes a wave of slashes down upon it. It blocks his onslaught however and sees Sapphire moving in for the kill. As it quickly turns, it tries to backhand her and send her flying, but she manages to block the attack with her Azure Drakes, crossing the three blades to block his attack. Ash takes advantage of this slight opening and slices the beast down the length of its spine.

The Beringel lets out a terrifying cry, but manages to stay standing as it lives through Ash's deadly blade. Sapphire growls and says, "We're too late, its backup just showed up." Ash glances over to see several Elite Ursai, Ursai covered in a thick boney armor that protects them from weapon damage, walking out from the thicker parts of the forest. As one of the Elite Ursai rushes the two huntsmen-in-training, Sapphire dodges to her right as Ash just stands there, waiting.

Sapphire's eye widens and she shouts, "Are you crazy, you can't pierce that thing's armor! We need to fall back, now!" The Ursa swipes at Ash with its paw, going from left to right, but Ash dodges under the attack as he takes a step in while drawing his sword. With one good stab, his blade goes up in a small opening in between the Ursa's jaw and its armor along its neck, killing the beast.

"You shouldn't be so quick to give in. Every enemy has a weakness.", Ash notes as he pulls out his sword and the Ursa evaporates instantly, leaving only its armor behind. "Between the shoulder blades and disks, below the jaw, and the eyes and mouth are the main weak points for these monsters.", Ash explains as he sheaths his blade.

" _He found out all their weak points so easily..! Is that his semblance?_ ", Sapphire thinks to herself as Ash moves to her side.

"We need to deal with the Beringel first then eliminate the remaining Grimm.", Ash calmly suggests as the Ursai start to surround them.

"It doesn't look like we have that option right now.", Sapphire replies as the two stand back to back, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Can you fend off the Ursai while I deal with the Beringel?", Ash asks as he focuses on the wounded Beringel on the other side of the wall of Ursai.

Sapphire chuckles at his plan before saying, "Some little teddy bears like these guys? Now that I know where their weak spots are, they should be a piece of cake!"

Ash nods once and finishes with, "Then I'll finish off the Beringel.", before disappearing without a trace.

In the blink of an eye, Ash manages to maneuver between the Ursai and get past their defenses, catching the Beringel off guard. The Ursai all see this moment as their time to strike and charge at Sapphire all at once. She smirks at their effort and swiftly dispatches three of them in a single motion, stabbing them through the weak points that Ash explained to her just moments ago. As she pulls her blades out from the now disintegrating Grimm, she presses a button near the guard of her Azure Drakes and the Dust cylinder rotates over to the green colored gems. As soon as the cylinder stops, the blades all glow with a green light and pressurized air begins to flow around the blades, making it easier for them to pierce through her enemies.

"You think you can beat me with shear numbers? It'll take more than that to beat me!", Sapphire exclaims as she seems to stab wildly at the Grimm, hitting their weak points with every strike. She glances over to Ash for just a moment to see him dodging the Beringel's giant fists with ease. As he dodge's the behemoth's giant punch, he manages to get past its guard and slice its head clean off of its shoulders with one slice. Sapphire lets out a sigh of relief as the final Grimm begins to disintegrate.

"It seems we are victorious.", Ash says as he sheathes his sword into its sheath.

Sapphire does the same with her three Azure Drakes before turning to him and saying, "Yeah, but now we have a bigger problem." Ash seems to raise an eyebrow under his bandages and Sapphire explains, saying, "Now we need to find the ruins."


	9. Players and Pieces

Deep in the forest, Reginald and Persi are wandering aimlessly looking for their objective. Persi is on high alert for any nearby Grimm while Reginald is relaxed with his hands behind his head and his eyes to the sky. As Persi scopes the area for any Grimm activity with his weapon in its shotgun form, Reginald sighs and says, "There aren't any Grimm nearby, so you can relax."

Persi glares at his partner and asks, "How are ya so certain of that?"

Reginald grins and flicks his wrists, causing the area around them to shimmer. "Before I met up with you, I set up a barrier. It's about twenty feet in all directions and catch the slightest of movements, so we're pretty safe.", Reginald explains as Persi sees the wires coming out of his gloves.

"So that's your weapon?", Persi asks as he transforms his weapon back into an axe and places it on his back.

Reginald nods and says, "Silver Lining. Pretty cool, huh?", as he weaves the threads around himself elegantly.

The Faunus simply rolls his eyes before replying with, "Let's just keep moving. We need to find the ruins."

Reginald returns his hands back behind his head before blowing off Persi's worry, saying, "Yeah, yeah. Find the relics at some random ruins in the middle of the forest then head to a random ass location that we'll get when we get our magical moon ruin. Wonderful plan, Captain." Reginald glances over to Persi's axe and asks, "So, what's your weapon? I see it's an axe that shoots shotgun rounds, but what else can it do?"

Persi glances back at him before returning his focus ahead of himself as he says, "It doubles as a baseball bat in a pinch."

Reginald snickers at the idea and says, "A baseball bat? I've gotta see that one!"

Persi smiles at this sudden interest in his weapon before saying, "Let's hope you don't have to." Persi pulls out his scroll and presses an app to show a map of their area, but looks at it in confusion.

Reginald glances over his shoulder and says, "Hey, we're pretty close to the ruins."

Persi gives him a baffled look before asking, "How can you tell that?"

Reginald points to a point to the west of what looks like a landmark at the center of the forest. "We have to be here. The tower just over there is only fifteen feet that way and on my way over to you I saw that clearing to the south.", he explains as he points out the landmarks on the screen.

Persi marks their current location on his scroll and says, "So if we're here, we just have to head east and we'll run straight into the ruins."

Reginald nods and adds, "And then we can get the hell outta this place. There might be a lot of Grimm in this forest, but they're all so booooring!" Reginald starts heading east and Persi follows shortly after.

Persi bumps into Reginald, who suddenly stopped for no apparent reason, causing the bear to look down at him and ask, "Hey, what's with the stopping? Weren't you the one that wanted to get out of here in a hurry?"

Reginald looks at his threads and sees one of them being pulled before saying, "Something's ahead of us, hiding."

"An ambush?", Persi asks himself and Reginald shakes his head no before saying, "Grimm aren't that strategic. Is it a person?" Persi and Reginald both think at the same time, " _Don't tell me it's that asshole._ "

* * *

Reginald and Persi stealthily sneak through the terrain before coming upon a rustling bush. They sneak up into a nearby tree to get a better view of the possible threat. They can't quite see them, but hear them saying, "Russel, where the hell are you? I'm not gonna wait all day for your slow ass to get over here!"

Persi grinds his teeth and Reginald only sighs before whispering, "It's this idiot again, great."

"Come on Cardin. Wasn't this your plan? Shouldn't you be taking more directive than just sitting around?", another voice says, sounding as if it were coming out of a speaker.

"Shut up and get over here! Our plan rides on all of us meeting up and getting the same relics! That's how we end up on a team together, trust me.", Cardin continues, seeming more irritated than usual.

"Alright, alright. My scroll says I'm nearby. Poke your hand out so I can see ya.", the voice says to him.

Cardin grumbles to himself before popping out a hand from his hiding spot in his bush and saying, "There, my hands out. Now get over here!"

"Hey! I think I see you!", the voice shouts, coming through the speaker and across the forest all at once. A boy with a shaved head and light-green Mohawk runs up to the hand and pulls Cardin up out of the bush as they smile at each other.

"Russel, what the hell took you so long?", Cardin growls with his mace in his free hand.

Russel scratches the back of his head nervously before saying, "I ran into a few Grimm, but I was able to get out of it all unharmed."

Cardin just rolls his eyes before saying, "I thought I told you to AVOID the Grimm. It doesn't matter now. Let's go meet up with Dove and L. They're just north-east of here. Come on, don't slow me down."

As the two boys walk off together, Persi and Reginald both look to each other for the other's reaction. Persi seems irritated by this while Reginald is only bored. "A bunch of half brained idiots working together might just make a whole brain.", Reginald says to himself before leaping down from the tree.

"Those two...!", Persi growls under his breath, just loud enough for Reginald to hear.

"What are you on about now?", Reginald asks with a confused glance over his shoulder at his angered companion.

"You heard them! They're rigging the system so they end up on a team together! Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of this exercise!?", Persi replies in a frustrated tone as he points in the direction the two boys ran off in.

Reginald smiles at his frustration and replies with, "Just ignore them. They aren't worth worrying over. We have a job to do, right? Then let's get moving."

Persi grits his teeth, but follows Reginald's lead as he heads for the ruins. As he hears the sound of rustling bushes behind them, his bear ears twitch. "Wait, did you hear that?", he asks as he glances over his shoulder. They both look back to see twenty large, glowing eyes and their eyes widen in disbelief as the beast's giant shadow casts over them.

* * *

Across the forest, Ash and Sapphire are walking through the forest toward the ruins. "We're close, I can feel it.", Sapphire says as continues trekking through the forest. As she lets go of a nearby branch, it flings back at Ash and she shouts, "Heads up!" Instead of dodging the branch, he quickly slices through the threat before sheathing his blade and continuing onward. Sapphire lets out a chuckle before saying, "You know, I never expected to run into another swordsman. Well, not somebody at my level at least."

Ash doesn't seem phased by her complement and continues onward as she tries to talk to him. "So, you're from Anima, right? What made you want to come to Vale and attend Beacon?", she continues to ask, but all she gets is a glance from the mummy like swordsman before he turns back to his path and ignores her question.

As he continues on his path, he tells her, "We need to head north to find the forest's center. If we want to avoid anymore battles with the creatures of Grimm, we should keep moving." He passes her and starts leading them in a slightly different direction and she follows, walking slightly behind him and to his right.

As they walk, neither one of the swordsmen say a word, causing Sapphire to think, " _Not very talkative, is he?_ " "Hey, you're a swordsman too, right? Did you make your sword yourself? It looks well crafted.", Sapphire says as she tries to break the ice with Ash.

"Yes and yes.", he bluntly replies as he continues walking, not even looking over his shoulder to communicate with her.

She looks closer at his sheath and notes, "It's a bit bland though. How do you shoot things with it?"

He glances back at her for a moment before turning his sight forward and saying, "I don't."

"T-then how do you-", she begins to ask before they hear a hissing noise. She turns to see a young Aggromantulai crawling toward them. She goes to draw her sword, but stops when she sees the Grimm pierced by a glowing grey sword. As the Grimm starts to disintegrate, the sword begins to fade away into nothing. "Another sword made out of your aura?", she asks in disbelief as she looks to her partner, who's ignoring the aftermath of the battle and continuing on his path. She picks up the pace to catch up and ends up walking right next to him as she says, "So that's your semblance? It's pretty cool."

They both hear a loud rumble coming from their left and they both turn to see what it might be. Sapphire says, "What the hell could be-", before activating her semblance to see what'll be coming their way.

In her vision, she sees Persi and Reginald rushing past them as Persi shouts, "Retreat!" Reginald is only laughing as he swings from tree to tree with his wires and Persi runs as fast as he can, easily keeping up with his partner. Ash and Sapphire look to where the two came from to see something huge heading straight for them. As it gets closer, they see it's a gigantic Grimm, a fusion of five King Taijitu to form a Hydra like Grimm.

As Sapphire's vision ends she grabs Ash by the back of his shirt and pulls him along as she starts rushing in the direction Persi and Reginald would be heading in. "We need to go this way! If we're lucky, we can set up a trap for it!", Sapphire shouts to him, leaving Ash confused.

"A trap? For what?", the boy asks as he follows Sapphire, no longer being pulled along by his shirt.

She points back to the source of the noise from earlier and shouts, "There's a large Grimm coming! I haven't seen anything like it before! We need to do something or those guys behind us are done for!"

As Ash looks back, he sees Persi and Reginald starting to catch up to them along with the Grimm chasing them. "We need a plan. Based on that Grimm's size and speed, it'll eventually catch us. King Taijitu are nearly impossible to cut due to their scales being too slippery, so we'd be at a massive disadvantage.", Ash suggests as he turns back to focus on where they're going.

As they continue running forward, they see to their left is a cliff leading down to the ruins that houses their objects: the relics. " _The ruins? So they were this way after all._ ", Sapphire thinks to herself as she notices the ruins.

Ash suddenly stops, causing Sapphire to come to a screeching halt before rushing back to see what he's doing. As she does that, Persi and Reginald finally catch up to them and Ash grabs Sapphire by her jacket before leaping up onto the side of a tree. He then uses that tree as a springboard at just the right time to leap through the air and grab both Persi and Reginald at the same time, sending them all over the cliff.

* * *

As they all go flying off the cliff, the Hydra Grimm follows them, falling down to its demise. As they're falling however, Persi shouts, "What the hell!? Are you trying to kill us all!?"

Ash looks to Reginald with an aloof glance and says, "You made a parachute before. Do it again."

Reginald, noticing they're starting to fall faster and faster, gets a large grin on his face! He quickly weaves a large parachute to hold all of them, but they're still falling too fast.

"We're still falling too fast!", Persi shouts in his rage as they continue to fall.

Sapphire suddenly gets an idea and draws two of her Azure Drakes. The Dust crystal cylinders rotate to the green crystal and she says, "I'll use some wind Dust to slow us down!"

As she does so, Persi shouts, "We're still falling too fast! We need to slow it down a little more!"

Reginald turns to Persi and shouts, "You wanna stop shouting and start shooting!? I'd rather not die being held by two guys and a cyclops!"

"What the hell did you just call me!?", Sapphire exclaims as she continues to trying to slow them all down.

Persi draws his axe and as soon as it finishes transforming into its shotgun form, he starts slowly shooting. "Yes! Like that Persi! We're starting to slow down!", Reginald notes as they start to slow down enough for it to be safe to land.

They slowly land near the ruins and as Reginald reels in his wires from the giant parachute, Persi shouts, "What the hell was that!? Were you trying to kill us!?"

Sapphire puts away her weapons before Ash replies with, "It would've caught up with all of us no matter what we did. A Grimm of that size isn't as easy as some of the other threats in this forest. This was our best way to avoid the Grimm."

"We could've died!", Persi exclaims in response as he gets in Ash's face.

Their one sided argument is suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone coughing behind them. The four turn to see Cardin and Russel with two other boys, each pairing holding something. Cardin and one of the other boys are both holding relics that resemble the black bishop from a chess set. "Are you two done? Because we got places to be.", Cardin says smugly as he crosses his arms and waits for them to move out of his way.

"Ah, so you managed to find all your friends, huh? Were they hiding in bushes like you were?", Reginald mockingly asks, causing Cardin to growl at the boy. Cardin lifts his mace up into the air and aims to hit Reginald, but before Reginald can setup a barrier to block the attack, Ash draws his sword and places the blade against Cardin's throat.

Cardin simply grins before saying, "You think a small razor like that'll get through my aura? You'll need more than just one cut to get through to me."

"Who said I was only going to cut you only once?", Ash coldly replies before Cardin glances around.

He notices Sapphire's grinning as she has her arms crossed and he shouts, "What're ya so smug about?" Russel taps Cardin's shoulder before pointing up at something. They all look up to see twenty grey aura blades floating above them.

"Do you still believe your aura can save you from my attack?", Ash asks with a cold glare as the blades seem to start moving in, preparing to pierce Cardin's body.

Cardin reluctantly lowers his weapon before replies with, "I don't have time for you punks anyways. Let's go guys." As Cardin and his team start to leave, Ash sheaths his blade and the floating daggers above them fade away.

"Woah, that was... that was cool.", Reginald notes as he watches the blades disappear.

Sapphire looks over to Reginald and says, "Come on, let's scout out the ruins. You two keep an eye out for Grimm."

Reginald and Sapphire walk into the ruins, leaving Persi and Ash behind to talk. Ash and Persi turn to see there aren't any other real threats in the area except for the downed Hydra Grimm and the now retreating team of bullies. Without any real threat in sight, Ash glances over at Persi to see him glaring at him. "You know, it's impolite to stare.", Ash notes, causing Persi to growl in frustration.

* * *

In the ruins, Reginald and Sapphire are looking around for the relics that they were asked to find. "There's nothing here that really looks like a relic.", Reginald notes as he looks at the chess pieces all sitting on pedestal.

Sapphire glances over her left shoulder at him and asks, "You think he wanted us to get these chess pieces?"

Reginald nods and replies with, "Figures our headmaster would send his students into a war zone to find his missing chess pieces. It's definitely more fun here already than it is back home."

Sapphire turns back to the pieces on her side and notices the only ones missing are the black bishop pieces that Cardin and his group took with them. "If all students are broken up into teams of two and all pairs are told to retrieve only one of these chess pieces, then-", Sapphire starts saying as she begins to figure out the way Ozpin is planning on assigning teams.

Reginald finishes her sentence by saying, "Then whichever two pairs have matching pieces become a team then." He quickly picks up the black knight piece sitting in front of him. He shows her the piece and asks, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

She lets out a laugh before saying, "You two don't seem too bad. I guess it's better than ending up with some other random people." She grabs the matching black knight piece and asks, "Well, now what?" Before they can make a plan or leave the ruins, they both suddenly hear their scrolls vibrating, and when they check, they see they both received a message containing coordinates to an unknown location.

"I guess we have a new objective.", Reginald notes as he puts away his scroll. He motions for Sapphire to go in front of him as he says, "After you. I think it'd be best if you head into the battlefield first."

She accepts his offer and replies with, "Getting scared already?"

Reginald only laughs to himself as he watches Sapphire's hips as she walks ahead of him, while saying, "Nah, I think it'd just be better for both of us this way, heh."

Little did he know that Sapphire was glancing back at him over her shoulder, before she growling, "Stop looking at my ass and get your ass moving."

He places his hands behind his head as he follows her out of the ruins, replying only with, "You're no fun."

As they're about to walk out, they hear Persi shout, "What the hell did you just say to me!?"

They rush out into the open to see Ash glancing over at Persi, who's shouting at Cardin and his group, who've returned for whatever reason. "What's going on?", Sapphire asks as she puts her right hand on the grip of her top left sword.

"I'm gonna beat these guys into a bloody pulp, that's what's going on!", Persi exclaims as he pulls his axe off his back and prepares for battle.

"Heh, like I'd lose to some furball like you.", Cardin mocks the Faunus with a grin on his face.

Ash and Reginald both look at the group and Ash comments, saying, "Something's not right here." Sapphire and Persi both look to Ash and see his attention shift to the cliff side. They look to it as well and see the Hydra turning it's attention from the nearby forest to the eight of them. Reginald, Persi, and Sapphire all figure it out and their eyes widen.

"You're trying to draw that Grimm over here!? Are you insane!?", Sapphire shouts in a panic as Cardin simply waves goodbye to the four of them.

As they prepare to attack Cardin and his comrades, the four bullies all disappear with a gust of wind, surprising all four of them.

"They were...an illusion?", Persi asks in confusion before hearing a rumble in the distance.

"We have a bigger problem on our hands.", Ash says as he points to the Hydra heading right for them.

In the distance, Cardin and his friends watch as Sapphire and everyone else at the ruins start rushing to the north, trying to escape the Hydra. He turns to the boy dressed in mostly brown and says, "Good job Dove."

Dove nods and replies with, "It was all your idea to use my semblance to get the Grimm to move out of our way."

Cardin grins and says, "That's one of the things I wanted to happen. Enjoy your first mission here at Beacon, you furball." Cardin turns around and starts walking into the forest before motioning for his team to follow.


	10. And Nevermore

As the four students notice the giant Grimm heading straight for them, Sapphire shouts, "We need to fall back! Now!" She suddenly dashes off toward the forest, causing the three boys to quickly follow her.

"So, do ya know where you're goin' or what?", Persi quickly asks the girl as he looks to her for an answer.

She quickly looks back to him and shakes her head yes before looking down at her scroll. She sees the marker located on top of a cliff and a blue arrow representing her current location. "We're heading for the side of that cliff! I doubt that thing can climb too well, so we can evade it there!", she suggests as they rush into the forest.

"And we're just supposed to keep runnin' until then!? That thing 'll catch up to us before that!", Persi exclaims, causing Reginald to laugh.

He looks to his partner to and watches as Reginald grins while saying, "If we get it in the right spot, we could take it!"

"We should keep moving. That Grimm isn't recorded in any records I've seen, so it's either extremely rare...or...", Sapphire begins to say before Ash finishes her sentence, saying, "No hunter or huntress has ever lived to record data on this Grimm."

This causes both Persi's and Reginald's eyes to widen in disbelief as they all continue to rush toward their destination. Persi glances over to see Ash glaring at him as he grabs the hilt of his sword, which causes him to panic.

"Sapphire, ignite these.", Ash calmly suggests as he starts to draw his blade from its sheath.

"W-what are ya-", Persi nervously begins to ask before Ash slashes past him, hitting the the trees behind him.

Sapphire shouts, "I understand!", before using her blades, ignited by fire Dust, to quickly light the falling trees on fire. As the burning trees fall over, the Hydra Grimm stops before slithering around the fire and continuing to chase after them.

Persi's eyes widen in disbelief as he sees this before Reginald cheerfully exclaims, "Great, now we know it's weakness! All we have to do is burn down the entire forest and it'll fuck off!"

"We should take advantage of this and pick up the pace. Let's go!", Sapphire exclaims before using the fire dust from her Azure Drakes to launch herself forward with an explosive blast aimed toward the ground.

Reginald's grin widens as he shouts, "Alright, no more holding back!", and he sends out his wires, pulling himself forward by wrapping around the trunks of trees and pulling himself forward.

Ash suddenly gets engulfed by his grey aura before seeming to zoom by Persi who growls in frustration. "Hey, don't just ditch me, assholes!", he shouts in a rage before grabbing his axe and turning it into its shotgun form. He quickly fires multiple shots at the ground with his gun, propelling himself forward with the additional force, helping him catch up to the others.

As they zoom through the forest together, Persi looks down at his scroll to see that they're getting close to their destination at an astonishing rate, which he fullheartedly laughs at. "Looks like we're in the clear, guys! We're almost th-", he begins to say happily before he runs into a wall face first, causing him to drop his weapon and scroll before falling down on his back. He lets out a pain-filled groan while rubbing his head with his eyes closed, before saying, "Damn it all, why didn't they tell me there was a rock there!?"

"Um, Persi...", Reginald says in a worried tone, causing the bear to look over to see the three of them standing behind him, looking up at something. Persi raises an eyebrow at him before looking to see what they're looking at, seeing that the 'rock' is really a giant wall of stone!

"W-what!? This wall wasn't here before, was it!?", Persi frantically asks as he looks up at the wall, getting up on his feet after grabbing his weapon and scroll.

"No, it wasn't. Something's off.", Sapphire says with a worried look before glancing over her shoulder to see the Hydra Grimm coming.

Reginald looks to the right and says, "Let's find a way around!", before starting to run to the right, but the ground suddenly rises up, blocking his path. "W-what the hell!?", he growls to himself before turning around to see another wall rise up from the ground, trapping the group in a corner.

"A trap!?", Persi exclaims in disbelief as he looks around.

Sapphire places one of her Azure Drakes in her mouth before drawing another blade after saying, "There's no time left to complain. It's coming."

* * *

As the four of them look into the forest, they hear the thundering crashes of trees being crushed and the ground trembling. Reginald and Ash both quickly prepare themselves for battle while Persi aims his shotgun toward the coming threat. They wait patiently for the enemy to show itself with their backs to the wall, but the forest suddenly falls into silence.

The four of them slowly form a perimeter to help their formation and Persi asks, "So, anyone got a plan?"

"Dodge to the right.", Ash replies, earning a confused glance from the bear. Suddenly, two of the Hydra's heads lunges at the group and Sapphire, Reginald and Ash all dodge to the right and Reginald and Ash pull Persi with them, helping him out of the way of harm. As they're dodging, however, three more heads lunge out of the forest at the group.

Ash and Reginald dodge to the left, carrying Persi with them, who's shooting at the heads. The shots don't seem to do anything other than irritate the beast before three heads team up to attack the boys. Ash forms a few aura blades before launching them at the Grimm heads, but they only shatter off of the beast's hard scales and bones.

Before the heads can attack them, Sapphire launches a powerful gust of wind at them with her wind Dust, sending them up into the air and out of danger. Reginald looks around and sees a few choice trees before shouting to Persi, "Chuck him, Persi!"

Persi looks to Ash, who nods to him, causing the bear to grin. "Payback's a bitch!", Persi shouts as he launches Ash up in the air with a powerful throw.

As Ash goes flying up into the air, half of the Hydra's heads go straight for him! Reginald and Sapphire quickly use the fire Dust in their weapons to create a giant explosion that engulfs four of the Hydra's remaining heads. "Now Persi, do it!", Reginald shouts as the last free head rushes toward Persi.

With a courageous roar, he uses his axe to slash down at the last free head. Boosted by the power of his semblance, he manages to cut the beast, decapitating it in one go.

As his blade slices through the beast's neck, it crashes into the ground and causes a giant explosion, sending dirt, grass, and dust flying into the air from the raw force behind his attack. As Reginald and Sapphire look on in disbelief of the raw power Persi just displayed, Ash dodges the heads trying to attack him before landing on top of one and running along its neck toward the main body.

" _If this Grimm has multiple heads, then either one of the heads is the main one, or..._ ", he begins to think before finally reaching the main body where the multiple King Taijitu bodies are fused together. As he sees the mask of a Grimm hiding between the bodies, he thinks to himself, " _There it is._ " He goes to attack the Grimm right in its mask, but he's quickly forced to retreat when two of the beast's heads lunge at him with their mouths wide open.

As he retreats back to the others, who are fighting off the other eight heads attacking them. "What was that? You looked like you found something.", Sapphire notes, though it's a bit muffled due to the sword in her mouth.

Ash quickly slashes at an oncoming head while replying with, "It seems like there's some kind of Grimm keeping this thing together. It's not one that I've ever read about, so it must be rare."

"So we destroy that annoying Grimm and this giant Grimm just becomes some basic King Taijitus! Sounds like a plan!", Reginald adds as he manages to block an attack from four of the heads by igniting his wires with fire Dust, forcing them to retreat back to their main body. As he does this,

Persi blasts back a couple of the blood thirsty heads before turning to ask, "So we found a weak point, what now?"

Ash turns to Sapphire, who closes her eye for a moment before quickly opening it, and as she does, it begins to glow with a strong blue aura. She looks to the boys before sternly ordering, "Persi, Reginald, you two distract the heads. Keep together and work as a team. Ash, you're gonna cover me as I go for the killing blow. Got it?"

They all nod before Persi and Reginald start causing havoc, earning the giant Grimm's attention easily and Ash and Sapphire go the opposite way, trying to avoid the battle. As they rush around the large Grimm, one of the heads that stayed back to protect its weak spot. Ash quickly gets in front of Sapphire before just as quickly saying, "I'll deal with this, go for the weak spot!" He quickly forms multiple aura blades which knock the head back as he rushes toward it to push it further back.

Thanks to this, she's able to rush past the and head straight for the Grimm's weak point. " _According to my vision, that Grimm Ash mentioned should be right-_ ", she begins to think before finding the Grimm Ash found earlier and saying, "Here!" She goes for a quick stab, but one of the Grimm's slimy tentacles manages to push the blade, saving it from certain death. Sapphire simply grins before activating the Dust in her three Azure Drakes and launching a full-on onslaught on the Grimm while shouting, "Take this!"

This causes a giant explosion that nearly engulfs the Grimm's entire main body before the Hydra falls apart, reverting to five separate King Taijitus. The explosion sends dust and dirt flying into the air, nearly blinding everyone in its radius.

* * *

"She did it!", Persi exclaims as the snake like Grimm lose their thicker scales and bone-like armor.

Reginald quickly cuts down two of the King Taijitus while happily saying, "Now these things are just child's play!"

Persi quickly decapitates both heads of a King Taijitu with a single swing of his axe before saying, "To think these things would get so strong from working together."

"It doesn't matter anymore. We should continue toward our objective.", Ash suggests after speeding by one of the last King Taijitu, sheathing his blade as the beast falling to pieces.

As the last King Taijitu tries to escape, two blades fall from the sky, and as they pierce through the Grimm's two heads, they see they're Sapphire's Azure Drakes. "I agree, we should keep moving.", Sapphire adds as she steps out of the dying dust cloud while sheathing the Azure Drake she had in her mouth.

The four students look up at the giant cliff face without any plausible way to climb its flat face. "So, how the hell do we get up there?", Persi asks as he puts away his axe and looks up at the cliff face in confusion.

"Persi.", Sapphire says sternly, earning a glance from the giant bear. She glances over to Reginald and says, "Chuck Reginald up there."

"W-what!? Isn't that dangerous!?", Persi asks in a panic as he reels back.

"You just did the same thing with Ash, so it should be simple enough, right?", Reginald asks with a smug grin on his face.

Sapphire lets out a slight laugh before saying, "But first, wrap your wires around the three of us."

In response, he quickly wraps the three of them in a thick amount of his wire before saying, "Alright, that should hold. I even added a few extra layers for you, Persi."

"Is that some sort of joke, Reg-", Persi begins to ask with a growl before Ash cuts him off by saying, "Focus. We need to get up there before more Grimm find our location."

"If you're that pissed at me, then you have a reason to chuck me, right? Then get to it then.", Reginald replies smugly before Persi quickly grabs him by the collar of his shirt with one hand and lifts him off the ground.

With a powerful chuck, Persi sends Reginald flying up into the air as he shouts, "You asked for it, you little bastard!"

As Reginald lands on top of the cliffside, he gets a call on his scroll from an unknown number.

He reluctantly answers it to hear it's Sapphire, saying, "Now, reel Ash and I up. Once you do that, we'll help pull Persi up."

"When exactly did you become the boss of me, Cyclops?", Reginald sarcastically asks with a smug tone before feeling something tug on his threads.

He's quickly pulled to the very edge of the cliff before hearing Sapphire say, through his scroll's speaker, "If you call me that one more time, I'll toss you off that cliff."

Both fearlessly and ignorantly, he jokingly asks, "Promise?", before almost falling off the cliff as she tugs on the threads oncemore. This causes the boy to let out a cackle before starting to reel his two comrades in, bringing them to the top of the cliff within minutes.

When they land at the top of the cliff, Sapphire is glaring at him with her one eye as she hangs up her scroll and Ash has his usual plain expression on his face. She sees his grin and simply rolls her eye before looking down at Persi.

"Alright, let's pull him up and get out of here.", Sapphire suggests as she grabs onto one side of the wires. Ash grabs the other side, preparing to help her and as they start to pull, Reginald starts to reel him up with them. With their aid, Persi climbs up the face of the cliff before almost reaching the top. As he grabs the edge of the cliff, the other three use the last of their combined strength to pull him over and up to them, all falling down as Persi joins them.

Exhausted from their hard work, they all pant and gasp for air. "Damn, Persi! You're just as heavy as you look!", Reginald jokingly notes as he sits up to look to his partner, but Persi just glares at him.

With a growl, Persi grumbles, "Do ya want me to chuck ya off this cliff?"

Reginald simply chuckles at his threat before falling flat on his back and mocking him again, saying, "You wouldn't do that~ You'd miss me too much~"

As Sapphire sighs at their petty squabble, she glances across the sky to see a Nevermore flying sporadically around a temple like area in the distance. When she squints to get a better look at what's going on, she sees a hint of golden hair in the beast's mouth! "Yang?", she mutters under her breath as she tries to figure out who or what is in the Nevermore's mouth.

Ash lifts his head to see what she's mumbling over and notices the Nevermore with Yang in its mouth, blasting round after round of shotgun ammo down its throat. "Should we do something about that? She might be in trouble.", Ash asks as he looks to Sapphire for her response, but before she can answer, they all hear a giant crash.

All four of them watch as the Nevermore slides down the cliffside and is frozen in place by its tail. "Ice?", Persi asks in confusion as they watch the Grimm struggle, trying to escape its fate. Suddenly, a red blur goes flying through the sky and the Nevermore's head goes flying back, crashing into the cliffside.

"Ruby? She's fighting that thing too?", Sapphire nervously asks with a raised eyebrow, confused by the coincidence of the two sisters working together. Right where the red blur landed on the cliffside, they can all just barely make out the figure of a small girl in a red hood before seeing a line of white glyphs heading up the side of the cliff appear.

"She's there too? I'm surprised she hasn't broken a nail and given up yet.", Reginald sarcastically notes with a slight chuckle as he watches the fight go on. The boys all stand up, shocked at what they're witnessing as they watch the young Ruby Rose speed up the cliffside with the Nevermore's neck wedged under the blade of her scythe, pulling the bird along for the ride.

"What the-", Persi begins to say before she reaches the top of the cliff and the beast's head comes flying off with one powerful slice! As Ruby lands heroically at the top of the cliff, Persi's jaw drops in disbelief as Sapphire simply grins up at them.

"What is it Persi? Cat got your tongue?", Reginald mocks before the boy shakes his head to bring himself back into his senses.

Persi quickly points to Ruby and, still left in disbelief of what he just witnessed, shouts, "That girl couldn't- She's, like, ten! There's no way she could physically do that!"

Sapphire chuckles at Persi's confusion before suggesting, "She's more than able to do that. I've known Ruby all her life, and she's as determined as they come. You'd do well not to underestimate her, Persi."

They all suddenly get messages on their scrolls saying, "Congratulations! Head to the last point marked on your map for extraction."

"We should get moving. The evacuation point is to the North of here.", Ash suggests as he starts heading to the extraction point on his map.

Persi and Sapphire follow close behind him while Reginald grumbles, "Like I'm going to let some mummy lead me around.", before crossing his arms, not wanting to be told what to do.

"Come on, there'll probably be a few Grimm to deal with on the way there.", Persi says back to him as he looks to him over his shoulder, causing Reginald to grin.

Reginald quickly turns around and follows them, saying, "Well, it'd be rude to let the three of you have all the fun, right? I'll take the lead and deal with whatever comes my way."

* * *

With that, the team heads off to the extraction point and when they get there, they're met with multiple airships waiting for them. On one of them are Professor Ozpin and Glynda, who are more than happy to see the four of them. "Looks like we're the last group to arrive.", Ash points out as they look around to see the all the other students have already arrived in their groups.

Persi glares over at Reginald and shouts, "Well, if someone didn't insist on eliminating every Grimm they came across, then maybe we would've gotten here a bit quicker!"

Reginald just laughs at his rage before suggesting, "And maybe if someone didn't have us stop to take a potty break then maybe we wouldn't be in last place, hm?"

As the two partners glare at each other, they get right in each other's faces before Persi exclaims, "What did ya say, ya little brat!?"

"You might be big, but your bladder is the size of a peanut!", Reginald mocks the bear with a grin on his face, causing his partner to growl at him.

Their argument is interrupted when Glynda smacks her riding crop against the side of the airship, earning everyone's attention. With everyone's silence earned, Ozpin coughs into his left hand before looking to his students and saying, "Well, now that you've all finally arrived here at your final objective, let's return to Beacon. The Team Assignment ceremony will be held as soon as we get back, and after that, you'll go back to your dorms for the rest of the night."

"All students, please board the airships and once we've returned to Beacon, head to the Amphitheater and be ready for the ceremony to come.", Glynda explains before she and Ozpin board their airship and leave.

The students all do as Glynda instructed and as the last student boards their airship, they all take off in unison for Beacon Academy. When they all gather in the Amphitheater, they see that there's a large stage setup under an equally big screen. As the ceremony goes on, Ozpin calls students up to the stage by name one at a time before four people are on the stage together.

He explains which pieces the two teams picked up when they reached the ruins and assign them to a team together, naming the team after something that is or references a color.

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. And from this day forward, you shall work together as: Team CRDL(Cardinal), lead by, Cardin Winchester!", Ozpin announces as the four stand together proudly with their hands behind their backs. Cardin looks smugly out to the crowd of students and his gaze falls on Persi, who's glaring at him. He rolls his eyes at the Faunus before Ozpin congratulates his team and they walk off the stage proudly.

Once they're off the stage, Ozpin continues on with the next group of students. "Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. And from this day forth, you shall be known as Team JNPR(Juniper)!", he announces as the four come onto the stage as their names are called, causing Nora to leap at Ren with a hug. He continues on, saying, "Lead by...Jaune Arc!", which catches both Pyrrha and Jaune completely off guard.

"Lead by, me?", Jaune asks in confusion and Ozpin gives him a proud nod before saying, "Congratulations young man."

Pyrrha gently places her hand on the boy's shoulder, earning a concerned look from him, but it quickly disappears when he sees her confident smile, causing him to smile back in turn. Team JNPR walks off the stage together and the next team is announced.

Ozpin continues announcing, saying, "Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. So, from this day forth, you will go by, Team RWBY.", as the girls walk onto the stage as their names are called. Weiss grins as she waits for him to announce her name as leader, but is beyond shocked when he says, "Lead by, Ruby Rose."

She isn't the only one shocked by this outcome however, as Yang gives her sister a concerned glance and Blake reacts with a raised eyebrow aimed at Ozpin. With Ozpin congratulating the four on their success, they step off the stage for the final team to be formed.

Sapphire, Ash, Persi and Reginald all walk onto the stage, the last of the students who haven't been put on a team yet.

"And finally, Sapphire Cobolt, Ash Ghent, Persi Pumpkin, and Reginald Wolfe. The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. And from this day forward, you shall be known as, Team SAPR(Sapphire).", Ozpin announces with a smile. He stops for a moment to build up suspense before saying, "Lead by, Sapphire Cobolt. You've earned it young lady." This earns her a quick thumbs up from both Yang and Ruby, who're watching from the crowd, while Reginald simply rolls his eyes as hard as he can. Persi and Ash aren't shocked in the slightest and as the team comes off of the stage, Sapphire's quickly tackled into one of Yang's bear-hugs.

"I'm so proud of you!", Yang says to her as she lifts her off her feet.

As Sapphire gasps for air, she manages to say, "Yang! Need! Air!"

Ozpin watches on as his students start leaving for their dorms, before muttering to himself, "It seems this is going to be an interesting year."

* * *

Elsewhere in the kingdom, in a warehouse near the docks, Roman is standing in front of a map of Vale. It has multiple Dust stores marked on them with different symbols distinguishing their threat levels and the amounts of Lien and Dust he'd be able to get from them. He grumbles to himself before saying, "Doesn't matter how much Dust I get if I can't get it in time.

I need to find it." With that, he turns to the nearby table and picks up the newspaper laying on it, which has its front line story circled in red marker. It's a story about a convention for medicine coming to Vale and how important it is for the Kingdoms to work together, but that isn't the information he's looking for. As he skims through the article, he sees a picture of a large machine sitting next to a Doctor, Doctor Ceplers. Next to the picture is a miniature article about a disease called, Ceplers' Disease. It states that this disease is a bizarre brain disease that mainly effects those who've exposed to the phenomenon of the Vacuo desert triangle. This disease causes those who have it to slowly forget their past, starting from the start of their life until they eventually they can't remember anything at all. And though many do not understand the exact scientific reasoning behind the disease, they are able cure it with this machine that Doctor Ceplers invented after studying many women who showed signs of the disease he helped discover and name. This is all Roman needs to read before skipping down to the last part of the entire article that says that the event will be held in a month and the medical equipment will be protected by Vacuo's finest huntsmen.

Finished with the paper, he goes to put the paper down, but stops when he sees another interesting article. It's an article about the White Fang's recent thieving and how they've been seeming to hit all kinds of shipments from all over Remnant. As he finishes reading it, an evil grin come across his face as he puts the paper down and says, "We're gonna need more men."


	11. The First Day

Early in the morning, as the sun starts to rise on a new day, Reginald is happily laying in his bed asleep in his bed, wearing only a pair of silver pajama pants with matching socks. Persi is doing much the same, but making a fair amount of noise as he snores with his mouth wide open as he lays on his back, arms and legs spread out like he's a starfish, revealing the light orange pajama pants he's wearing with his matching tank-top. Sapphire, however, has her head buried under her pillows, trying to hide her ears from Persi's monstrous snoring. She's wearing a simple pair of blue shorts with a matching t-shirt with a black wing logo on the back of it.

Suddenly, their slumber is ripped away from them as an alarm goes off in their room. Persi jumps up at the sudden noise and looks around the room in a panic, asking, "What the hell is making all that noise!?"

He finally finds the answer when he hears a muffled groan as Sapphire reaches over to her scroll and slams her fist on it, calming the alarm. She slowly sits up, holding her head as she lets out a pain-filled groan. As her pillow falls on the floor, Persi is horrified to see her hair is a complete mess, causing him to stare at her in complete terror.

When their eyes meet, she glares at him before grunting, "What the hell are you looking at?" He just points to her hair and as she turns to the nearby full body mirror, she begins to ask, "What? Is something on my-", and stops right when she sees her hair in a complete knotted mess. She lets out a tired sigh and reluctantly asks herself, "Again? Really?", before getting out of bed and walking over to the mirror with a brush. "I knew I shouldn't have drank that much last night. Damn you Yang!", she growls under her breath as she starts brushing out the knots in her hair.

Persi and Sapphire are both surprised when they hear Ash say, "That was definitely a mistake." They both turn their gaze to see him sitting on his bed with the blankets and pillows seeming untouched in a meditative state with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He opens his eyes to glance at Sapphire before saying, "You came back last night beyond drunk and passed out face first into your bed." He's wearing his usual outfit, though he isn't wearing a shirt, which reveals his entire body is wrapped in a grey gauze from head to toe.

As Sapphire finishes brushing out the last of the knots in her hair, she runs her fingers through her hair, checking for the slightest inconsistency before finally being satisfied with the end result. The three are then distracted by the sound of tossing and turning from across the room. They all glance over to see Reginald is still sound asleep throughout their entire conversation and her alarm going off. He's covered in his warm blankets, sleeping happily in his bed as the others glare over at him.

Persi facepalms before saying, "This guy... How is he still asleep after that annoying alarm?", before Sapphire just rolls her eye and heads to one of the side doors in the room.

As she holds her aching head, she tells them, "I'm grabbing something to kill this hangover. We still have a few things we need to do, so why don't you guys wake up Sleeping Beauty?"

* * *

When she goes through the door, she sees a decent sized kitchen with a dinner table in the middle with eight chairs, two on each side. Yang is sitting at one of those chairs in her tank-top and shorts, downing a glass of strange green goo before slamming the glass down next to another glass, which is full of the goo.

"Ehh, this stuff is gross!", Yang says to herself as she shudders from the aftertaste. Sapphire lets out a slight chuckle at Yang's dismay, causing the blonde to grin up at her before saying, "It's your turn now, Sapphire." Yang hands the girl her glass, causing the goo to slosh around a little, before saying, "Go on, drink up~"

Sapphire sheepishly takes the cup into her hands, trembling as she looks down at the strange green goo in the glass before letting out a loud gulp. "What? Is the great Sapphire Cobolt trembling? You don't fear Grimm, but you're afraid of Uncle Qrow's 'special remedy'?", Yang jokingly asks with a wink.

Through the horrid smell, Sapphire manages to down half the glass in one quick go, but before she can finish the rest, she hears Persi shout, "Wakie wakie, eggs and WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Yang begins to ask, "Is that your-", before hearing a loud crash from the other room. The two girls look to each other before rushing into SAPR's room to see Reginald laying on the ground with his bed flipped over on him.

"What the hell was that for!?", Reginald exclaims from under the flipped over bed as he shakes his fist at Persi.

Ash, still sitting calmly on his bed in the same position as he was before, simply says, "You didn't wake up when he called your name or when he tried to shake you awake. You're quite the heavy sleeper, Reginald."

"If you woulda just woken up the first time, I wouldn't've had to flip your bed! Now get up already! We got shit ta do!", Persi nags, causing Reginald to let out a loud groan.

Yang just chuckles at this before saying, "At least we aren't the only ones with a heavy sleeper on our team. We still haven't been able to wake up Weiss. Every time Ruby tries to nudge her awake, she shoves her away. I think she thinks Ruby is one of her butlers trying to wake her up!" She waves them off before saying, "Welp, I'll see ya guys later at class. Ruby wants to remodel the room a bit after we get Weiss up, so if you hear some odd noises, it's probably that.", and leaving the room through the door to the kitchen.

Reginald, still laying on the ground, raises a finger and asks, "Why is that big boobed babe in our kitchen? I'm not mad, I'm just curious."

"That's one of neighbors from Team RWBY, and my childhood friend, Yang Xiao Long. She's more than a hand full, so I wouldn't try my luck with her if I were you.", Sapphire explains, causing Reginald to chuckle. "I guess you don't know my kind of luck then.", he replies with a cheeky grin as he looks over at the door, plotting something. She glares over at him before he makes the quip, "But she's definitely more than a hand full. Am I right, Persi?" He looks to his partner and holds his hand up for a high five, which he responds with a slap to the back of the head.

"Stop being an idiot and get up already! We have shit ta do!", Persi growls, scolding the boy as he lifts the bed off of him.

"Wait, what exactly do we have to do? We don't have classes until nine.", Reginald asks, causing Persi to pause.

Persi glances over to Sapphire and curiously asks, "Actually, what did we have ta do?"

"Perhaps we should get to know one another? We are on a team together after all, no?", Ash suggests as he uncrosses his legs and stands up from his bed.

Sapphire snaps her fingers and says, "That's a great place to start. Let's start with that." She goes to her bed then pulls a case out from under it, laying it down on the bed before opening it. Inside they see her Azure Drakes in their sheaths, which are all connected by a long belt that goes around her waist. As she draws one of the blades, she holds the blade up to them and says, "My name's Sapphire Cobolt. These are my Azure Drakes, designed them myself."

Reginald snickers to himself and sarcastically asks, "What is this, show and tell?"

Ash follows suit and pulls his blade out from under his pillow before pointing the weapon, sheath and all, toward the tip of her blade, holding the weapon by its sheath and meeting the tip of her blade with the blade's pommel. "Ash Ghent. This is Dragoon. It may not be as fancy as your weapons or use Dust, but it's more than enough for me.", Ash says as he holds his weapon against hers.

Persi does the same as he reaches under his bed and grabs his axe, holding the tip of the blade against the tips of their weapons. "Persi Pumpkin, and this fine piece of work goes by The Judge, a battle axe that can turn into a pump-action shotgun for mid to long range combat!", Persi explains as their weapons meet.

Reginald lets out a laugh and says, "This is beyond dumb...", but this only earns him a slight glare from his team-mates. He lets out a reluctant sigh before reaching into his pockets and pulling out his weapons, his pair of gloves. As he puts them on, he reluctantly explains, "Name's Reginald, Reginald Wolfe. And these are Silver Lining. With these, I can manipulate the wires in the backs of each of them like extensions of my body. They can also be combined with the Dust in the cylinders on the back to give them different effects." He then looks at the conglomerate of weapons and asks, "So, what do I do? Do I just...", before making a fist with his right hand and placing it with the weapons, almost fist bumping them.

Sapphire lets out a slight sigh before muttering, "Good enough..." "Whether we like it or not, we're team-mates now. We're Team SAPR. Since we're stuck with each other, we might as well try our best to get through these coming years in one piece.", Sapphire suggests to them, earning a nod from each of them.

As she lowers her weapon, the others do the same and Persi asks, "Okay, what now?"

"Well, we need to get a head start on our strategies, so while we're getting changed, we'll have to figure out what our roles will be.", Sapphire explains as she grabs a pair of folded clothes from the nearby dresser. She walks over to the bathroom while saying, "I'll change in the bathroom, but I should be able to hear you guys from in there." As she opens the door outward, she looks back at her team and says, "Go on, I'll be right in here.", before walking inside and locking the door as it closes behind her.

The boys all look to one another before Persi says, "Well, I guess I should be the damage of the team then?"

"Why?", Ash bluntly asks him as Reginald sneaks up to the bathroom door.

"Well, my Semblance allows me to get stronger with my emotions, so if I'm pushed hard enough I can do some serious damage.", Persi explains as he grabs his clothes from his bag and starts to get dressed.

Ash starts to get ready as well as he says, "That would make sense. I'm not sure what I should be..."

"You'll be our hit-and-run fighter, Ash. Based on what I saw yesterday, your fighting style suits it almost perfectly.", Sapphire suggests through the door as she continues to get dressed.

Once the two boys finish getting dressed, they look over to the bathroom door to see Reginald standing next to it, looking at them. He puts his finger to his lips before going to peek through the keyhole, but he's met with a doorknob to the face as Sapphire swings the door open, as she's already finished equipping her blue combat outfit.

She looks down at the boy as he lays on the floor in pain before she says, "Honestly, that was too easy to predict, Reginald. If you wanna sneak a peek at me naked, you'll have to try a lot harder than that."

The boy just snickers to himself before saying, "I guess I'll just need to try a little harder next time, huh?" He rolls over to his bed before grabbing his briefcase and opening it to reveal his usual uniforms inside.

"I think I saw some bowls and stuff in the kitchen, so maybe they gave us some food to start with too. We'll start breakfast while you get changed.", Sapphire explains as she walks to the kitchen. As Ash and Persi follow her, Reginald gives her a salute before sarcastically replying with, "Ai ai, Captain!"

* * *

When they get into the kitchen, Sapphire searches through the fridge as she points to the cupboards and suggest, "You guys check what supplies we have. I'll see what we got in here." The two simply nod before going to the cupboards, Persi taking the higher up ones as Ash takes the ones on the ground.

Persi opens one and finds a few boxes of cheap cereal and oat meal, which he pulls out and puts on the table while saying, "Well, at least they got us something."

Sapphire responds by adding, "We got some milk in here too. We might be able to have some cereal. You find anything over there, Ash?"

Ash opens another one of his cupboards and finds only cans, responding with, "It seems like this one's full of cans. I think they have vegetables and fruits in them."

As he closes the cupboard, they hear someone shout, "Wait! Don't pull tha-", before hearing a loud crash. The three all look to each other before Ash looks back to the cupboard he just closed.

"Was that...Yang..?", Sapphire asks with a raised eyebrow as they all turn to the cupboard door. He opens it oncemore to find a head stuck through the wall. Unsurprisingly, it's Yang, who's still spitting out dust from the drywall.

"Eww, I don't know which tastes worse, Qrow's concoction, or this drywall. Bleh!", she growls to herself before realizing that she's been found. She lets out a slight chuckle before saying, "Hey guys...CAN I get a hand here? It looks like I got a bit AHEAD of myself." Ash only gives her a blank stare as Sapphire lets out a loud groan of disapproval. "Come on Sapphire, that was a good one!", Yang says with a grin on her face.

Ruby and Blake come rushing into the kitchen, dressed in their combat uniforms, as Ruby shouts, "Yang! Did you find any cookies down there!?"

"Ruby, your sister just took a whole bed frame to the face and went head-first through the wall and you're worried about cookies?", Weiss furiously growls as she walks into the kitchen as well.

Ruby holds her stomach and replies with, "But I'm sooooooo hungry!"

"Shouldn't we be more worried about getting expelled for vandalism?", Blake suggests with a worried look on her face before the three RWBY girls look to each other then to the members of SAPR.

Sapphire simply facepalms before saying, "Come on, let's get her out of there. Then we'll figure something out about hiding the hole."

"That's my home girl!", Yang happily shouts with a smile.

Sapphire looks to Ash and asks, "Ash, you think you can cut a hole in the wall for Yang's fat head to fit through?"

"Hey! My head isn't fat! I just have a big brain!", Yang growls in retaliation.

Ash puts his head into the cupboard to get a better look at the wall before saying, "The wall can't be too thick. I think I should be able to cut through it with little trouble."

Sapphire nods her head before saying, "Do it.", giving Ash the green light.

He uses one hand to lift up Yang's head a bit before saying, "Try to stay still. If you move too much, I'll end up slicing your aura or possibly break it."

With one hand cupped behind her head, lifting it gently, he points to the wall with his other hand and small knives made from his aura appear out of nowhere and starts slicing into the wall. The blades are only a few centimeters from the girl's neck, which causes the blonde to look up at Ash with a hint of worry as she starts to shake a bit with fear.

"You're shaking.", Ash points out, causing the blonde to say, "You'd shake too if some guy was holding your head with knives to your throat! Just get me outta here already!" As the blades suddenly disappear, he flicks the drywall with his free hand, causing it to fall out, making a perfect hole for her head to fit through.

"The hole is finished. Did someone want to pull her out?", Ash says as he pops his head out of the cupboard.

Ruby, Blake and Weiss look too each other before looking to Persi. Sapphire lets out another sigh before saying, "Fine, come on Persi. I'll help you pull her out from the other side. Ash, when I say 'Go' you start pushing."

As Sapphire and Persi go into the next room, Ruby goes over to Ash's side and says into the cupboard, "Don't worry Yang, you'll be out of there in no time!"

Yang suddenly lets out a quick yelp before Ruby panics and asks, "What happened!? Are you alright, Yang!?"

She quickly nods with a slight grin before saying, "Yeah, they just grabbed my legs so suddenly is all! Perfectly fine!"

With that, Sapphire says, "We're ready on our side, Ash. Tell us when you're ready and I'll count down.", and Ash starts to move into position.

He crawls halfway into the cupboard and places his hands on Yang's head before saying, "I think I'm ready."

"Hey, you better be gentle!", Yang exclaims before Sapphire says, "Alright, counting down!"

"Three.", Sapphire starts as Yang says, "Hey, are you listening to me?" Sapphire seems to ignore her, continuing to count as she says, "Two."

"I swear if I lose a single hair, I'm kicking someone's ass! You hear me!?", Yang shouts before Sapphire says, "One!"

And as soon as Sapphire shouts, "GO!", Ash pushes Yang's head toward the hole as Sapphire and Persi pull her to the other side. In just a second, she's back in her room, looking up at Sapphire and Persi with a grin on her face.

"You could say that was a HAIRY situation...eh? Eh?", Yang jokingly says, which earns a slight chuckle from Sapphire. She holds a generous hand out to Yang, and as she quickly takes it, Sapphire pulls her up to her feet. "Thanks for the save guys.", Yang says as Ash and the rest of her team comes walking into the room.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do about the hole in the wall?", Blake bluntly asks with a slight frown on her face.

Weiss looks the the hole in the wall and says, "I think I have something for that." She goes to the boxes she has stacked up in the corner of the room before picking up a thin, yet tall box and laying down on her bed. When she opens it, they see it's a standing mirror as she says, "This should fit over that hole quite nicely. And none of the Professors will be curious about it. Such an average thing will do perfectly, don't you think?"

Ruby and Blake both look to each other and nod before going over to the mirror and placing it in front of the hole, hiding it completely. Sapphire lets out a sigh of relief before saying, "Great, now we need to get some breakfast. Don't want to be starving through our classes today, right? I just wish we had something other than oat meal and Dusty O's."

Reginald walks into the room and says, "Hey guys, look what I found!" His team looks over to them to see him with a plate full of pancakes!

"W-what!? Where did you get those!?", Persi asks in disbelief, causing Reginald to grin.

"The black haired guy across the hall made them. He and his team wanted to be friendly and made these for us. Pretty cool, right?", he explains as he points across the hall with one hand while holding the plate of delicious pancakes in the other.

They suddenly hear a knock on team RWBY's door and when Ruby opens the door, they see Ren standing there with Nora next to him as he holds out a plate full of pancakes. "Greetings, Team RWBY. We from Team JNPR would like to extend an olive branch to our fellow first years. Please accept these pancakes as a show of good faith. Let's get along well through our years at Beacon.", Ren says to the team as he holds the plate out for Ruby to take.

Ruby takes the plate from him, but doesn't know what to say and stumbles to form her words, only saying, "Umm, uh.. thank you..?"

Weiss slaps the back of Ruby's head before scolding the young girl as she growls, "Ruby, they're giving us a gift. Be more grateful!" Weiss does a curtsy before saying, "We of Team RWBY are thankful for your gift and look forward to working with you as well, Team JNPR."

Nora quickly grabs Ren's arm and says, "REN! We gotta hurry! Our pancakes are gonna get cold! Cold pancakes are SAD PANCAKES!", before dragging him back to their room.

Ruby looks down at the pancakes and pumps her fist with a grin. "Yes! Now we don't have to eat oat meal! Yang, go see if we have syrup!", Ruby exclaims as she shuts the door and turns to take the pancakes into the kitchen.

* * *

As they all finish their pancakes in the kitchen, they pile their dishes all together in the center of the table. With a burp, Ruby happily rubs her belly before saying, "That has to be the best breakfast I've had in weeks!"

Yang finishes her glass of orange juice before wiping her face and adding, "Yeah, Dad can't make food that good! It's good to be treated to a good meal every now and then~"

Persi leans back in his chair and says, "That was pretty good. Is that Ren guy a professional cook or something?" His glance wanders to a white clock on the wall and his eyes widen in fear before he quickly stands up, gaining everyone's attention. "Shit! We need to get moving, now!", Persi exclaims as he starts for the door to his team's room.

"What are you-", Sapphire begins to ask before turning to see the clock. "8:55!?", she exclaims in disbelief as she shoots up from her seat, causing everyone to turn to see the time in horror.

"We're gonna be late for class!", Weiss exclaims before rushing off into her team's room. Her team-mates follow quick behind her before the rest of Team SAPR rush into their room, grabbing their weapons before rushing out the front door to their room.

They speed through the hallways and around the school grounds before finally coming to a classroom, sitting down together in a row of seats in front of team RWBY.

At the front of the classroom is a pudgy, wise old man with grey hair and a majestic mustache. "Ah, Team RWBY, Team SAPR! So you've finally arrived! I was worried that you perhaps got lost, but it seems like you've finally made your way here to me! Now I can finally start my lecture, but first, I'd like to introduce myself!", the professor notes before walking up to the blackboard and grabbing a piece of white chalk.

As he starts writing on the board, Sapphire glances around to see many posters of Grimm hanging from the walls, seeming to have every variety of Grimm known to man on display. He writes, "Professor Port", on the board before setting down his chalk and turning to his students and saying, "For those of you who do not know, I am Professor Port, and this is Grimm Studies. In this class, you will learn many things that will help in your coming careers as Huntsmen and Huntresses!"

As he walks around his classroom, he goes on with his lecture, saying, "As many of you know by now, there are many theories as to where the creatures of Grimm first came from. Some speculate that they're demons, others believe they're a byproduct of a vengeful God, and a choice few believe that they're aliens from some distant planet. All of these theories, however, lack any basis and are just that, theory. Due to their odd tenancy to disintegrate after a certain amount of time in captivity, we only have a limited amount of data on these creatures." Jaune raises his hand, causing Port to point at him and say, "Yes, boy? What is it?"

"Why would somebody want to capture a Grimm in the first place? They're the most dangerous thing on the planet, right?", Jaune asks, earning an honest nod from his professor.

Port looks to the boy with a pleased glance and replies with, "That is a very good question, Mister Arc. Thank you for bringing that up. Yes, since Grimm are quite dangerous, it seems quite irrational to try and capture one, but there is some reasoning behind it. These include capturing the beast out of a hunter's pride, to show everyone your abilities. Back in my day, this was almost a test of manhood, which I passed with flying colors if I do say so myself. Though that isn't practiced as much in the current era, the more realistic reason to capture one of these creatures is to study its behavior and anatomy, aiming to find each species' weaknesses and whatnot. Again, Mister Arc, an outstanding question."

"Now that you mention it, I captured one of these beast this very morning for this lecture in fact!", Port reveals as he pulls a curtain off of a sealed cage. He taps the cage with his weapon, an odd combination of a blunderbuss and an axe, which causes the beast inside to growl wildly before slamming into the cage, causing it to rattle and shake uncontrollably. This causes most of the students to flinch, which makes Port chuckle to himself. "These creatures tend to only survive in captivity for less than one day before disintegrating into nothing. This gives us very little time to study their kind as thoroughly as we'd like. Though, there is a way to learn about the Grimm in the outside world...", he continues as he keeps a keen eye on his students.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Ruby doodling something on her paper, not paying attention to his lecture, but he ignores it, not wanting to disrupt the flow of his first lecture of the semester. As he continues on his lecture, going on about the different species of Grimm, Ruby continues to doodle. Once she's done, she taps on Weiss' shoulder to show her the masterpiece she just finished creating, only earning an annoyed roll of the eyes from the heiress. Ruby only grins at her masterpiece as she holds it up for both Yang and Blake to see, earning a slight chuckle from her sister before suddenly stopping and looking at something behind her.

Ruby, not sure what they're looking at, glances over her shoulder to see Port looking at her drawing. "Do you find my figure amusing, Miss Rose?", he bluntly asks, causing her to nearly jump out of her seat in fear, which causes an uproar of laughter in the room at Ruby's expense.

He leaves Ruby be, seeming pleased with himself and his results, before walking back down the stairs to the main floor to continue his lecture, but not before scolding the girl, saying, "Now, please do pay attention to this part, Miss Rose. It's very important." As he walks over to the cage, he looks up at the clock on his wall while saying, "Almost exactly twenty four hours ago, I captured this very Grimm and locked it inside this cage. So, once it hits the twenty four hour mark-", but stops mid sentence as he uses his axe to cut off the lock to the cage, revealing the Boarbatusk inside. Before it can step out of the cage, however, the beast disintegrates into nothing before everyone's eyes. "-the beast will completely disintegrate.", he finishes as he places his axe on his desk.

Some of the students in the class start clapping and he takes a bow, humbly accepting their praise. "If I could give all of you a single piece of advice to help you through your careers as Huntsmen, it would be timing is everything both in combat and in life. Now, I believe you are dismissed.", he says right before the dismissal bell sounds, and the students all go to their next classes.

* * *

Grimm Studies is quickly followed by Hunter Regulation and Law, taught by the Green Blur: Bartholomew Oobleck, and Sparring and Team Building, taught by the Headmaster's second hand: Glynda Goodwitch. Their final class of the day finally rolls around and it's Dust Applications and Study, taught by a Miss Peach, who's running a bit late as the teacher isn't present in the classroom.

As they're waiting for the teacher to arrive, Sapphire asks, "So, anybody know where the teacher is or-", and before she can finish her sentence, there's a sudden explosion on the teaching floor behind the teacher's desk.

As the fans in the ceiling turn on, the smoke clears and they see a woman with slightly tan skin and peach colored hair standing there wearing a white lab coat, protective goggles, and black latex gloves and boot that reach up to her elbows and knees respectively. "Good Morning, students! Welcome to Dust Applications and Study. From this moment forward, I will be your Professor. And who am I, you ask?", she says before pausing dramatically. She quickly throws a few Dust crystals of many colors up into the air before pulling the syringe from her pulled up hair and shooting at the crystals, causing them to explode like miniature fireworks! As they explode, their colorful blasts form a name above her in a pinkish color: 'Peach.' "You may call me Professor Peach! It's nice to meet you all!", the professor says with a smile, as she fixes her hair and pins it in place with her weapon.

Ruby, along with most of the other students are amazed by this feat and clap for her, leading to a cocky smile to come across the professor's face. "Wow, this teacher's so... so awesome! I love this class!", Ruby exclaims in her excitement.

Professor Peach smiles up at the amazed girl before saying, "The fun doesn't end there, Miss Rose! There's even more fun to come!" As soon as she finishes fixing her hair, Professor Peach goes behind her podium and says, "Well, now that the introductions are out of the way..Dust! Dust is the backbone of our society. We use it in weapons, ammunition, machinery, and even some clothing, but these aren't the only uses for Dust. Dust, as you know, doesn't need to be refined to be useful. In fact, you can use it quite easily in its raw form. Just by crushing the crystal in your hand, you can activate its properties, though this can be incredibly dangerous depending on the type of Dust crystal you're using."

This causes Ruby to squint at the teacher suspiciously before sitting straight in her seat with her arms crossed, waiting. She leans over to Yang, who's sitting to her left, and whispers, "I think she doesn't know what fun is..."

This causes Yang to snicker before Weiss shushes them to silence. The Professor notices this, however, and says, "Getting bored already, Miss Rose? Don't worry, the fun part is finally here." She then goes to the nearby closet and pulls out a large box, which she opens in the middle of the room. As she empties its contents, everyone sees it's full of more boxes.

"There should be enough boxes for each team to share, so will each team leader please come down and grab a box and we'll get started with our first experiment of the semester!", she explains as she motions for them to come down and grab a box. As each leader collects their team's respective box, they return to their team's table to open their box, revealing it's full of lab equipment and different kinds of Dust.

"An experiment on the first day? That's definitely quick.", Reginald says to himself as Sapphire and Persi unload the boxes contents.

Professor Peach lets out a giggle before saying, "It's a nice little introduction to the fun we'll be having in this class. Now, go right ahead and start experimenting!"

As Team JNPR gets their station together, Jaune seems confused as to what he should be doing, but Pyrrha helps him by putting down a small beaker and handing him two vials of Dust, one light blue and the other green. When he pours the two in at the same time, Pyrrha quickly closes the beaker with a quark and a small blizzard forms on the inside, amazing Jaune and Nora.

Team SAPR is working with a light bulb and a chunk of yellow Dust. Sapphire connects one end of the wire to the yellow chunk and the other to the end of the light bulb and the bulb lights up instantly. Reginald takes this moment to strike, chipping a small bit of the Dust off and hiding it in his hand before moving over behind Persi, who's messing around with a bowl of crushed black Dust. He quickly crushes the yellow chip in his hand and pokes Persi in the back of the neck, shocking him, which causes the bear to suddenly sit up straight before turning to give Reginald a death glare. Reginald simply grins before rubbing the back of his head, but is surprised when Persi flicks a light blue cloud of crushed Dust at him, which freezes his arm in place, causing the bear to let out a hearty chuckle.

Sapphire lets out a chuckle when she sees Reginald frozen before tapping Ash on his shoulder to show him, but Ash doesn't seem to respond. Instead, he seems lost in thought as he looks down at the red crystal in his hand. She taps his shoulder oncemore, saying, "Hey, Remnant to Ash? You in there, partner?", which brings him back to reality. The boy shakes the cobwebs out of his head before looking to Sapphire with a confused glance. "You alright, Ash? You zoned out there for a second...", she asks him, but he only replies with a quick nod before gently placing the crystal back in the box. With that, she simply goes back to her project, though, she glances back to Ash every now and then to make sure he's not zoning out.

On the other side of the room, Team RWBY is working pretty hard on their projects. Yang and Blake are working with red and black Dust, Weiss is working with blue Dust crystals and a small amount of yellow Dust chips, and Ruby is completely bored out of her mind. Weiss glances over to her partner to notice she's doing nothing for the team before nudging her and saying, "Ruby, why don't you at least make it look like you're doing something. Here, use some of these." She hands the girl the box of remaining Dust crystals and RWBY rummages through it.

Ruby finds a few white crystals and puts them on her upper lip before muttering to herself in her best Professor Port impression, "Miss Rose, you should pay more attention during class. If you don't, you might miss a story about my father smelling like cabbages.", before chuckling to herself. This earns her a slightly raised eyebrow from Weiss and Ruby continues on, saying, "And you Miss Schnee, you're on the way to becoming a great Huntress! Maybe one day you too will smell as cabbagie like my father?"

Weiss lets out a slight snicker, which causes the girl to grin before rummaging through the box of crystals for more props. As she pulls her head from the box, Weiss sees Ruby's hair is full of green Dust crystals and two thin white lens-like crystals cover her eyes. She quickly pulls out a green, cylinder shaped, Dust crystal before pretending to drink from it and saying, "Ah, I do love a nice warm cup of jo in the morning. Or is this tea? Hot cocoa? I can't see through my special white sunglasses. Dreadful, simply dreadful."

This, surprisingly earns another snicker from the Ice Queen, though this time she hides it behind her hand before telling Ruby, "Ruby, stop it! You're going to get us in trouble!" Ruby doesn't take her advice and sees the perfect opportunity to make one last joke. She quickly pulls out a couple half sphere shaped crystals before shoving them down the front of her shirt before starting to pose in her seat.

"Hey Weiss, guess who I am now~", Ruby says with a wink as she pretends to whip the desk with a wire she pulled from the box, causing Weiss to actually laugh. This doesn't end well, however, as when she laughs leans back, and since she's sitting sideways in her seat she runs back first into Yang. Yang just so happens to have just finished making an inferno combination with Blake's help, sealing the blast behind the cork, but Weiss bumping into her causes her to drop the beaker.

As the beaker seems to fall in slow motion, Yang barely manages to say, "Oh fuc-", before there's a small explosion in the room. The room is filled with smoke and dust, blocking everyone's sight until, through the ringing in their ears, they all hear the ceiling fan start up. It sucks out the all of the smoke and dust in the room, revealing a few scorched desks and a generally unharmed team RWBY, though their faces are all covered in dirt and dust.

Yang and Blake are glaring at Weiss as Weiss is glaring at Ruby, who's combat skirt is on fire. She panics and tries frantically to blow it out like a candle, but to no avail. Professor Peach, seeing this, simply uses a handy fire extinguisher to put out the flames on her chest before saying, "I'm sorry, but you four will have to go to the Headmaster's office now..." At this point, her whole team is glaring down Ruby, who simply rubs the nape of her neck and says, "Oops..."

* * *

Later during lunch, Team SAPR and Team JNPR are sitting together eating lunch. Persi is eating grilled salmon, Reginald is eating a piece of cake, Sapphire is eating a burger, and Ash isn't eating anything. "You sure you aren't hungry, Ash? The food here's actually good, you know?", Sapphire worriedly asks as she glances over to her partner, but he shakes his head no.

"Come on! There's no point in lying about not being hungry to keep us from seeing your face. You'll have to take that stuff off eventually.", Reginald says with a curious glance.

Ash tilts his head and says, "I don't wear this to hide my face. I have a skin condition."

"Mmhmm, that's what they all say. I'm calling it now, he's super handsome under that toilet paper and he's just trying to avoid being swarmed by girls! Am I right, Ash?", Reginald jokingly replies as he leans closer to the boy, but Ash simply shakes his head no.

Sapphire scolds him though, saying, "Reginald, you don't need to be doing that. If he really has a condition, we should respect that."

Reginald rolls his eyes though and goes on to take another bite of his cake before saying, with his mouth full of cake, "I was only joking. I really don't care what he does, as long as he doesn't get in my way."

Persi goes to say something about his manors, but stops when they hear someone yelps, "Oww!", from behind them.

They all glance over to see what's going on and see that it's Cardin and the rest of Team CRDL bullying a Faunus girl, one who seems to have brown rabbit ears that Cardin is so happily tugging on. "Please, stop!", the bunny begs, but Cardin only pulls harder, saying to his team, "I told ya they were real!"

"Hey, I wonder if she's got a tail!", Russel says, causing Cardin to grin before replying, "There's one way to find out." This causes the girl's eyes to widen as she starts to tug away even harder, desperately trying to escape. Her struggling causes Persi to grind his teeth, while only earning a concerned glance from the rest of his team.

As Cardin continues to torture the poor girl, he goes to feel her butt, but his hands are quickly slapped away. Furious, he thinks, " _Who the fuck wants to die!?_ ", before glaring around to see Persi towering over him. "What the hell do you want, freak?", Cardin spits at him, furious that a Faunus would dare touch him.

Persi pulls the girl out of Cardin's grasp and tells him, "Just shut the hell up and leave her alone. It's people like who that piss me off the most." As Persi starts walking her back to his team, he begins saying, "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you too bad did h-", before being cut off by a sudden shattering of glass. This causes the noisy cafeteria to go dead silent as pieces of glass hit the ground. Sapphire and the rest of her team are surprised to see Cardin standing up from his seat, having just chucked a plate full of food at the back of Persi's head. Persi stops everything he's doing, letting go of the girl and placing one hand on a nearby vending machine before placing the other on the back of his head. As he pulls his hand back to look, he sees his hand is now coated in a red liquid. He licks the liquid off his fingers and to his surprise, it's blood!

"Did you just aim for my head just now?", Persi asks him without any emotion or even turning to Cardin.

Cardin just smirks before saying, "Whatcha gonna do about, furball?"

As blood starts to drip down the back of Persi's head, he activates his aura and the wound starts to heal as he asks, "Ya know ya could kill someone by hitting a vital spot in their head, right? Since ya probably know that, then ya were trying to kill me, right?" This causes Cardin's grin to fade before turning into a anger-filled scowl. Persi turns around, his aura glowing a bright orange as he shouts, "Then ya can't really complain no matter what I do ta ya, RIGHT!?"

Cardin's eyes widen as Persi, with one hand, lifts up the vending machine with one arm and chucks it at him! Cardin barely manages to dodge out of the way before Persi rushes him, his aura flaring as he lets out a bloody roar. He throws a punch at the bully, but it's blocked by Russel and Dove, who've drawn their weapons at the very last second to block the bear's onslaught.

"Get the hell outta my way!", Persi roars as he grabs the table CRDL was eating at and uses it to knock the two across the room, sending Dove through a window and Russel head first into a wall, knocking him out cold. Cardin draws his weapon, a mace like weapon, before swinging it at Persi. Persi, still full of uncontrollable rage, swings the table to meet his attack, but it's cut into pieces when Sky rushes by with his halberd as Cardin swings his mace down at the bear!

Before Cardin's weapon can hit Persi, however, it's stopped! Cardin furiously growls, "You wanna put your flee-bag in a cage?", as he glares at Sapphire, who's blocked his attack with her three sword style.

"It's cute how you think you have some sort of advantage, but you don't!", they hear Reginald say as Sky goes flying. Cardin glares over to see Reginald with his wires whirling around him like an impenetrable barrier. "It seems you need to learn your place: The Garbage!", Reginald shouts as he rushes in for an attack, but Cardin jumps back into the air, dodging his attack. Reginald anticipated this however, and as Cardin is stuck helplessly in the air, he shouts, "Now mummy boy!"

Cardin's eyes widen as he watches Ash leap up into the air and springboard off of Sky's back to get enough height to reach him. His expression quickly turns into a smug grin as he says, "Nice try, but no." With a bright flash, Ash is pushed back, but lands on his feet next to his team-mates. They all look up and as the flashing light dies down, they see the unbelievable. Cardin...is flying! He has wings made of his aura sprouting from his back, keeping him suspended in the air!

"You think you can take me on!? I'll completely obliterate you idiots here and now!", Cardin exclaims before his wings reel back and with one swift movement, he sends feather like blades made of his aura flying toward them!

"Move!", Sapphire shouts and they all dodge the attack, splitting up to keep him on his toes before all attacking at once.

"Attacking from different angles? Nice try, but still useless!", Cardin pridefully exclaims as he releases a powerful nova blast, pushing everyone and everything back. He starts to laugh uncontrollably as he watches all of Team SAPR getting sent flying by his nova blast. He's suddenly met by a table flying straight for him, which he slaps out of the air with his mace before looking for where the thing came from.

He sees Persi's still standing, but barely, before grinning at the wobbling bear below him. As he aims the top of his mace at Persi, cylinders inside the weapon begin to turn and a small flame begins to burn at the end of his weapon. "I guess I'll just have to get rid of this roadkill myself then.", he says before going to fire his weapon. Right before he can pull the trigger, his wings suddenly disappear and he's quickly slammed to the ground with an unbelievable amount of force, shattering his aura in one hit!

"W-who the-", he begins to mutter to himself before managing to lift his head just enough to see the bunny girl he was bullying standing there with Professor Goodwitch and Professor Oobleck. Oobleck has removed his glasses and is focusing his concentration on all members of Team CRDL and SAPR.

Dove is sitting unconscious at Glynda's feet as she says, "You all are in serious trouble."

"Yes, you all will be immediately heading to the Headmaster's office, immediately.", Oobleck adds in a more serious tone than usual before taking a sip from his thermos.

* * *

As Glynda and Oobleck arrive at the door to Ozpin's office, they see Team RWBY still waiting there. Oobleck holds the door to waiting room open and Glynda steps aside and motions for someone to come through, causing RWBY to all raise their eyebrows in confusion. They're beyond shocked to see both Team CRDL and Team SAPR walking in with Glynda taking their weapons from them as they enter the room.

"You four sit over there, and the rest of you, here. And don't you dare move! You're all in serious trouble when-", Glynda begins to scold them as she places teams SAPR and CRDL on opposite sides of the room before a familiar voice asks, "Oh, someone's already getting on your nerves, Miss Goodwitch?"

She turns to the doorway and scolds them, saying, "Three teams on the first day! That's three times the amount of problems we had last semester!"

As the figure walks through the doorway, the students all see it's Ozpin as he takes a sip from his coffee mug. He looks through the faces in his waiting room and sternly says, "I'll speak with you all in my office. All of you.", before heading into his office.


	12. Caffeine

"All of you should be ashamed of your actions here today. You all are the future of this generation and your reckless behavior could have caused not only serious damage to the school, but also put those around you in serious danger.", Ozpin says, scolding all three of the teams standing before him.

Cardin takes a step forward and growls at the Headmaster, shouting, "They started it! My team and I were just minding our own business and that disgusting mutt starting causing problems! He even-", but before he can finish, Ozpin shouts, "ENOUGH!", causing everyone to flinch in response and Cardin to step back to his team.

Ozpin takes a deep breath, taking a moment to recompose himself before saying, "You all are at fault for the altercation. I don't care who started it, this all shouldn't have happened in the first place. You all are lucky that this happened inside the city walls and not out in some village. Grimm are easily drawn to such conflicts and the ones who end up paying in the end are the helpless citizens who can't defend themselves. Both of you should think more about what your responsibilities as Huntsmen will be in the coming years and how exactly starting a meaningless fight would be nothing but a burden on those around you.", as he glares at Persi and Cardin.

"And as for you four...", Ozpin adds as he turns his attention to RWBY. Pushing up his glasses, Ozpin turns focuses on all of team RWBY before saying, "You all were beyond careless. Though, I guess I should commend you for finding a way to blow up the Dust Lab on your first day of classes, this action can not go unpunished."

"But, it was-", Weiss begins to say before Ozpin lifts a finger and glares at her, causing her to stop in her tracks and simply listen.

Ozpin looks to all the students in his office and sighs before saying, "The purpose behind the randomized team selection at the beginning of the year was developed years ago in order to promote both working with and against one's own faults, not only as Hunters, but also as people. Working together as a cohesive unit is one of the most valuable and powerful skills in the Hunter's assets against the Grimm. Though lone Hunters aren't uncommon, many of you will go on to continue working in teams with other Huntsmen or Huntresses. This skill isn't optional, it's a necessity." The Headmaster takes a long sip from his mug, causing tension to flow through the air almost to the point where it would choke a person to death, but stops and places his cup on his desk before turning to his students with a stern glare. "Luckily for all of you, you aren't the first students to cause Glynda such distress. There's already a program here at Beacon to deal with 'problem students' such as yourselves.", Ozpin explains, causing the students to look to one another in confusion.

Ozpin goes around his desk and pulls out three papers from one of its drawers while saying, "This program is known as Big Brother, and is made up entirely of second and third year teams here at Beacon. They'll help you all work out those little 'kinks' in your personalities by the end of the year. You'll meet your Big Brothers tomorrow after classes are done, that is if you manage to not blow yourselves up or kill each other in the mean time."

The three teams go to turn away, but are stopped when Ozpin slams his cane down on the table, causing them all to stop in their tracks and glance back at the old man, who seems to be glowing with his dark green aura. "I don't recall dismissing you three.", he growls as he glares over his glasses at them, causing the teams to all return to their original spots and wait.

Ozpin writes down each of the students' names down on the papers in front of him, writing SAPR's and RWBY's on one and CRDL's on another before writing all three teams' names down on the third paper. "As for the damage you all caused to my precious school, I'm assigning you all some community service. That should keep the twelve of you out of trouble and poor Glynda's hair for a while.", Ozpin finishes as he places all three papers into a basket on his desk.

Weiss reaches for her purse and says, "Damages? Oh, that won't be an issue. I'll just-", but before she can finish, Ozpin raises his hand, stopping her as he says, "It's not money I'm concerned about, Miss Schnee, but your teams' attitudes. I believe you all need to humble yourselves some before you can even think about calling yourselves Huntsmen." With this, Weiss lowers her purse and Ozpin sits down in his fancy chair before saying, "You are dismissed."

And as the teams leave the room, Ruby stays behind, which surprises the old man. With a raised eyebrow, Ozpin asks, "Can I help you with something, Miss Rose?"

"Yeah, um...I just wanted to ask you something...if you don't mind that is...", Ruby nervously replies as her team-mates leave her behind.

Ozpin, with his elbows on his desk and fingers interlocked, he asks, "What might that be?"

Ruby gulps before hesitantly asking, "Are...are you sure you made the right choice? You know, making me the leader?"

Ozpin tilts his head and asks, "Now why would you ask that?"

"It's just..everyone on my team. Weiss, Blake, even Yang...they're all more experienced than I am. And I doubt that they really think of me as a real leader. So, maybe you made a mistake?", Ruby explains as she nervously twiddles her thumbs.

Ozpin simply sighs before saying, "Miss Rose, I've made many mistakes in my life, but I wouldn't say that your appointment as leader is one of them."

"What do you mean?", Ruby asks in disbelief as Ozpin stands from his desk and walks over to her.

He places a hand on her shoulder and says, "Miss Ro- ...Ruby...you might be a bit younger than your team-mates and a bit childish, but it's only been one day. Being a leader isn't just a title, it's a badge you wear constantly, and sometimes a burden. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, that what reason do you give others to follow you? You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility. I suggest you take some time to think about how you will uphold it."

Ruby, not truly sure what he means by that, simply nods and Ozpin adds, "Good, now run along now. I have paperwork to work on, accident reports to write and check, and whatnot." As she leaves, he returns to his desk, and when she closes the door behind her, he lets out a sigh of relief before looking to his paper work. He then looks back to his cup before taking his glasses of his face and placing them on his desk to rub his face and say, "This is going to be a long night."

* * *

Back in SAPR's room, they're finally returning for the afternoon, and when the door closes behind them, Sapphire's burning eye targets Persi as she shouts, "What the hell was that!?"

"What do ya mean!? I was defending myself from that psychopath!", Persi exclaims, defending his actions.

"YOU! THREW! A! VENDING! MACHINE!", Sapphire shouts as she pokes him in the chest.

Ash adds onto this, saying, "He was assaulting that Faunus girl. Though, to take such violent actions after taking only a plate to the back of the head seemed...uncalled for to say the least."

Reginald fires back, saying, "That guy got what was coming to him! Picking on people who can't defend themselves is disgusting and simply picking on them because they're a Faunus is even worse!"

"Don't bring that into this! We're not going on about some political bullshit, Reginald! Persi broke a table, a vending machine, a window, and the fucking wall in the cafeteria! We're lucky we didn't get suspended!", Sapphire shouts, which doesn't phase him in the slightest. "Not to mention all of our weapons were taken from us for the next couple days.", Sapphire adds with a growl as she crosses her arms and glares at Persi.

Persi bites back, growling, "Hey, this isn't all my fault! It's that racist, Cardin and his goons' fault!"

Ash steps between Sapphire and Persi before saying, "We need to stop this, now. This isn't solving anything."

"But he-", Sapphire tries to say, but gets cut off when Ash points out, "Remember what the Headmaster said. It doesn't matter who's fault it is, we are a team now. One unit. If one of us causes a problem, then the blame falls to us as a team." Ash looks to his team-mates one by one before saying, "We simply need to put this behind us and move forward with what knowledge we gathered."

Sapphire lets out a reluctant sigh before saying, "I hate to admit it, but you're right. It doesn't really matter now, what's done is done." Looking to the kitchen door, Sapphire notices a notice taped to it before saying, "How about we try to make something to eat? We didn't really get to eat much at lunch, so we're all probably starving."

They all nod in response before she grabs the notice and sees it's from Glynda and it says, "Your teams' joint kitchen has been stocked for your first week. Both teams will have to work together to maintain a steady amount of food by using the weekly allowance earned from your classes. Please be sure to use these provisions wisely, as they'll be the only free supplies you'll be provided with for the entire semester. -Professor Glynda Goodwitch"

As they all enter the kitchen, they see RWBY is already there, having what seems like a makeshift dinner as they argue over something. Yang and Ruby are sharing a bowl of popcorn, Blake is eating what seems like tuna salad, and Weiss is having a Caesar's salad. They all stop their argument when SAPR comes into the room, however, and Ruby smiles to them before happily saying, "Hey guys! Look, we have food now!"

"Yeah, we got the note from Professor Goodwitch.", Persi replies as he checks the fridge for food, and Reginald sits seat to Yang's right.

"So, what are you guys up to? Other than stuffing your faces that is.", Reginald asks as he reaches over to steal some of Yang and Ruby's popcorn.

Yang slaps his hand away while saying, "Just getting yelled at by the Snow Queen, nothing new."

"I wasn't done, Xiao Long!", Weiss exclaims as she stabs her fork down into her salad.

"What? Do you have another complement for my explosive personality?", Yang asks with a grin before taking a hand full of popcorn into her mouth.

Weiss points at the blonde and scold her, saying, "See? That's what I'm talking about! There is no way any of us can take you seriously if you're doing nothing but making those stupid puns!"

"That's just Yang being Yang, Weiss. She runs on puns and alcohol.", Sapphire notes as she sits down at the table.

"Aww, you know me so well~", Yang replies with a smile before tossing a piece of popcorn to her friend. Sapphire catches the popcorn in her mouth as Ash sits down to her left.

"While we're on the subject of your alcoholism, it's against the school rules, Yang! You could get us in serious trouble again if any of the Professors found out!", Weiss points out before Yang just waves off her concern.

"Nah, it's fine. The rules only say I can't have drinks on school grounds, so I'm not technically breaking the rules."

"You should take this just a tad more seriously, Yang. This is our futures we're talking about, and I'd rather not get expelled because one of my team-mates 'wanted to have a good time.'", Weiss continues, using her fingers to make air quotes, before taking a bite of her salad.

Persi finds a few bottles of water in the bottom drawer of the fridge and says, "Ash, Sapphire.", earning their attentions before tossing them some water. After catching their bottles, Sapphire opens her's before taking a sip while Ash just sits his down on the table. Persi goes back to the fridge and starts building himself a sandwich out of the multiple meats and some bread in the fridge.

"Yang is correct. While the Headmaster allowed me to stay here before Beacon opened its doors for the Spring semester, I had plenty of time on my hands to not only train, but also read into the rules of the school. The rules about alcohol are only limited to actions on campus.", Ash explains, earning a raised eyebrow from all of RWBY.

Blake takes a moment to breath after enjoying her bowl of food before looking over to Ash and asking, "You were here before the school year started? How long have you been here, Ash?"

Ash waves her curiosity off, saying, "I've only been here a few weeks before the school's opening. I come from a temple of monks from southern Anima, so we don't make a lot of contact with the outside world or the four Academies."

"Oh, southern Anima? Isn't that area full of volcanoes and stuff?", Ruby innocently asks with her usual childish curiosity.

Weiss rolls her eyes at this and snobbishly says, "Ruby, that's Eastern Anima. Sheesh, you're such a kid. You don't even know basic geography."

Ash waves off her innocent mistake and says, "It's fine. The area is quite mountainous and full of trees and wild life. It's a fairly peaceful place, so Grimm encounters are few and far between."

Ruby's eyes widen before saying, "Woah! You guys must have all kinds of sweets and stuff there to help you stay calm!"

Weiss glares at the young girl, but Ash simply lets out a chuckle as Persi finishes his sandwich: a triple-decker sandwich with a slice of every meat in the fridge. Before Ash can continue on, everyone gets distracted by Persi's over-sized sandwich.

"Persi, what the hell is that thing?", Sapphire asks him as he sits down to Reginald's right with the giant sandwich on a plate.

"A sandwich, obviously.", the bear replies as he cuts the giant sandwich straight down the middle with a nearby kitchen knife. He hands one half to Reginald and leaves the other half for himself before saying, "Here, have some."

"Bet I can finish it before you can!", Reginald suggests with a grin on his face as he looks over at his partner.

Sapphire lets out a chuckle before saying, "Are you two going to have a sandwich off or something?"

Persi gives his partner a wicked grin before saying, "I'm twice your size, bud. You don't stand a chance, little man!"

"Bring it on!", Reginald exclaims before digging into the sandwich.

As the two dig into their food, trying their best to one-up the other, Yang and Ruby cheer them on while eating their popcorn as Weiss just facepalms. Sapphire grins at the sight of her team-mates already competing with one another before taking a hand full of popcorn from the sisters' bucket. Sapphire then glances over to see that Ash and Blake are staring each other down, but once they feel her looking, they break eye contact and continue on doing what they were doing. " _What was that about?_ ", Sapphire thinks to herself before giving Ash a confused glance.

Ash glances over to see her concern before asking, "Are you alright, partner? You seem worried about something."

Sapphire gives him a smile before waving him off and saying, "Nah, it's nothing. Just thinking about some stuff is all. We should probably head to bed soon." Their conversation is quickly overshadowed by the sound of Yang's and Ruby's cheers as Reginald finishes his part of the sandwich first to everyone's disbelief.

"That...that's not physically possible...", Blake says under her breath in complete disbelief at the sight of Reginald thoroughly beating Persi in this eating competition.

Reginald lets out a laugh, signaling his victory before saying, "Looks like I win this time!"

Persi, still struggling to finish his part of the sandwich, looks down at what remains before saying, "I didn't think this sandwich was that big...ugh.."

"That was so awesome! I can't believe Reginald managed to fit that much in his mouth! Did you see that Weiss!?", Ruby exclaims before looking over to see Weiss' annoyed glare.

Weiss growls to herself before saying, "Ruby, could you **please** stop being so childish!? You're supposed to be our leader?"

"Come on Weiss, Ruby's still a kid. Give her some time and she'll definitely grow on you, right Yang?", Sapphire says to the Heiress before turning to Yang.

Yang stays silent for a moment as she eats her popcorn and pretends to not hear that, but gets pulled into the conversation when she feels an elbow hit her right in her ribs. The blonde looks over to see her little sister glaring up at her, to which she lets out a light chuckle and says, "Yeah, if you give her a chance, she's not that bad. Once you get used to her, she's not that bad of a team-mate."

"While we're on the topic, you!", Weiss adds as she turns her attention to Blake, who's been zoned out since her stare-down with Ash, pulling the girl out of her own little world back into reality.

"Me?", Blake asks with a confused glance and Weiss responds with, "You're far too quiet, and moody, and distant beyond compare. You need to stop that, it's annoying."

Blake just rolls her eyes before getting up from the table and saying, "I'm going to bed."

As she leaves the room, heading to bed, Yang calls out for her, saying, "Blake? Come on, don't let Weiss freeze you out. Come on, we still have some popcorn~ Blake? Blake!?" Blake simply ignores her partner and heads straight to bed, leaving her team behind. Weiss doesn't seem to care as she continues to eat her bland salad while Ruby and Yang look on with concerned frowns.

"Well, we should probably head to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.", Sapphire says as she gets up from the table. After Persi finishes the last of his sandwich, he and the rest of his team retire to their room for the night.

* * *

The next day both SAPR and RWBY are standing at Beacon's landing dock. Yang looks down at her scroll, seeing that it's nearly five o'clock in the evening. "So, where are they?", Blake asks with her arms crossed, tapping her foot as she glances around.

Ash looks to the position of the sun and says, "The message we all got this morning said to meet here once our classes were over. We need only be patient."

"I don't know about you, but I would rather be studying for my classes than standing here doing nothing.", Weiss says in her usual irritated tone.

"Come on Weiss, we have to do this. If we don't go through with this, we'll just get in trouble.", Ruby says, earning a glare from her partner.

Weiss, however, walks up to Ruby, getting right up into her face before sticking her finger right in the little red girl's face and saying, "None of this would be happening if it weren't for you, Ruby! We're only stuck in this situation because of your idiocy."

"That's enough. We need to be ready in case these guys from the Big Brother program show up.", Sapphire says as she keeps her eye open for any hint of the people they were supposed to meet.

Persi rubs the back of his head nervously before saying, "At this rate though, we'll be here all afternoon. It'd be nice if these guys just showed up already."

They're all surprised by an unknown voice telling them, "Good, you're all here." When they turn to find the voice, they see a team of four people standing before them.

One is standing in front of the other three, she's a teenage girl with a fancy outfit which includes a fashionable dark brown beret, a pair of black wire-rimmed aviators, and a large shoulder bag she's holding in her right hand. Two of the people standing behind her are clearly Faunus, as their animal ears are showing through their hair, one having red fox ears while the other has brown bunny ears. The fox-eared boy has darker skin than his team-mates with messy dark copper hair that matches the color of his fluffy ears. The girl to his left has long, brown hair and brown eyes that match her long brown rabbit ears. And finally is their final team-mate, who manages to even tower over Persi in size and muscles. The mountain of a boy looks fairly bland, his face lacking any real special characteristic, with his shaved black hair and tan skin.

"We're team CFVY(Coffee), the second year students assigned to deal with you little trouble makers. You should probably know-", the leader of the group begins to say before Weiss interrupts her.

"So you're the people who kept us waiting so long? Do you know how long we've been waiting here!?", Weiss snaps, causing the leader of the group to look at her as she pushes down her sunglasses to get a real good look at her.

The girl fixes her glasses before letting out a fake cough and continuing, saying, "As I was saying, Princess, Headmaster Ozpin gave us very special permissions with you all. One of those permissions is being able to drag you through the mud like the dogs you are, and if you don't listen: we simply report you as defecting and you'll be thrown on the first airship out of Beacon. Now drop and give me twenty, Princess."

Weiss, gritting her teeth as the other members of her team and all of team SAPR look on in disbelief, complies with the girl's demands and drops down to the ground before starting to do pushups. As she lifts herself off of the ground for the first pushup, she feels a sudden weight added to her back, which causes her arms to wobble and shake as she just barely manages to keep herself from falling flat on her face. Weiss looks up to see the girl is now sitting on her back, looking down at her nails painted a light brown.

The girl glances down to see Weiss glaring at her before saying, "What is it Princess? I don't remember telling you to stop." Weiss simply glares at the ground before slowly continuing her pushups.

The fox Faunus boy walks over to his leader and leans over to her ear before whispering to her, "You're having too much fun, Coco. And I don't believe the Headmaster gave any of us that much power."

Coco lets out a heavy sigh before saying, "Aw, you just had to ruin my fun, didn't you Fox? I guess I should get serious about this." As she gets off of Weiss' back, she says, "Alright, Princess, you can stop now.", and motions for her to stand up, irritating her even further before she stands up with a scowl on her face.

"Why you-", Weiss begins to say before Reginald lets out a laugh at Weiss' expense.

As Reginald says, "Ah, that was great! You should've seen your face, Schnee! It was priceless!", the heiress glares back at him, to which he only grins.

"I'm sorry about Coco. She can be a bit...excessive at times, but she means well. I'm Velvet, Velvet Scarlatina.", the bunny girl says as she steps forward somewhat sheepishly. Velvet then points to the taller boy next to her and says, "This is my partner, Yatsuhashi.", before pointing to the other Faunus and saying, "And he's Fox."

Coco pats Velvet's head while saying, "Now, with that out of the way, we should get to it. Since there's eight of you, we'll each take two siblings per person and take some time to really get to know each other. Sound good to you guys?" The fashionable leader turns to her team and they all seem to nod. "Alright, now-", Coco begins to say before suddenly pulling out four straws out of nowhere and shouting, "DRAW!" Doing as they're told, Coco's team-mates each draw a straw, leaving her with only one straw in her hand before they each reveal their straws.

"W-what the hell are you guys doing...?", Persi asks with a confused tilt of his head as everyone else also looks at the team in confusion.

The team looks to him with slightly surprised glances before Fox says, "We're drawing straws, what does it look like we're doing?"

"Yahoo! Looks like I win again!", Coco exclaims as she raises her straw up into the air.

Velvet looks to her own straw and then to Yatsuhashi's before saying, "Looks like we tied, Yatsuhashi. Which means..." The three all look to Fox, who's holding the short straw in his hand, not even looking down at it, but still knowing he'd lost. "Sorry, Fox... Looks like you got another bad draw.", Velvet says sheepishly before her partner looks over to her.

He simply nods before telling her, "It's fine. I'm used to it.", and the three look on as Coco walks up to the two teams.

"Alright, then I'll draft my two siblings first.", Coco says with a smirk on her face as she lowers her sunglasses to get a better look at her options. She looks the eight of them all up and down before thinking, " _Damn, these guys all look pretty good. The boys might lack any fashion sense, but at least they have a bit of character to their clothes... Oh well, I guess I'll go by my golden rule._ " Ruby suddenly finds Coco's finger in her face before Coco says, "I'll choose this little cutie first!"

"C-cute..?", Ruby asks with a confused glance before Coco pats her head and says, "Yep! I just love cute things. Just ask Velvet and Fox~" Coco then looks around again before pointing oncemore and shouting, "And you'll be my second choice!", this time her focus falls on Sapphire.

"Me?", Sapphire replies with slightly raised eyebrow.

Coco happily nods with a grin on her face and says, "Yep, now you two stand over by me and let the others pick their siblings for the day."

Coco, Sapphire and Ruby all step aside and Velvet steps forward. She looks to her options and puts a finger to her chin, thinking about who she should choose. With one finger, she points to Blake and with the other she points to Persi before saying, "You two are coming with me." The two look to each other before simply shrugging and doing as the bunny asks, walking over to her as Ruby and Sapphire did with Coco.

As Velvet steps aside and gestures for him to step up, Yatsuhashi steps forward and look to the remaining pairs. He sees Weiss and Reginald, who are still getting on one another's nerves, before looking to Yang and Ash, who don't seem to care about the situation. He points to the later two before saying, "You two, I choose you."

"You sure you have enough badges to handle me, big guy?", Yang jokes with a wink as she and Ash move to the giant's side.

Fox turns toward Reginald and Weiss, who are giving off a negative aura as they glare each other down, before sighing heavily to himself and saying, "Good grief." He motions for the two to come over to him and reluctantly, they comply.

"Great, now that we're all buddied up, let's go have some fun. We'll meet up her around sunset, yeah?", Coco says, earning a nod from the rest of her team before they head their separate ways.

* * *

Off in team CFVY's room, Coco and Sapphire are sitting on a bed together as Ruby tries on some of Coco's outfits and dresses. "So, how old exactly are you Ruby?", Coco asks with a slight smile to the girl.

Ruby takes a deep breath as she sucks in her little gut, letting Sapphire tie up the ruby colored dress' corset to a perfect size before she replies with, "Fourteen, but don't go underestimating me thinking I'm just some kid!"

Coco waves her hands defensively before saying, "No, that's not it at all! I was just surprised to see someone so young here at Beacon is all. You have to be pretty strong to get into Beacon, and since you're so young, that either means you bought your way in or you're one tough cookie."

As Sapphire tightens the the corset a bit more, Ruby lets out a light squeal before whimpering, "Too tight! Too tight!"

"Sorry! Let me loosen it a little for you.", Sapphire says in a panic as she unties the corset and loosens it a bit. As she tightens the dress up again, it seems to fit perfectly without suffocating Ruby.

Coco puts her cheek in her hand before saying, "Come on now, Ruby, turn around and let me see you in that dress~"

Ruby sheepishly turns around and says, "I-I don't know, Coco. I'm not really much of a 'dressy dress' girl, you know?"

"Aw, but it looks so good on you~", Coco replies with a soft smile.

Ruby then looks to herself in the mirror before asking, "D-does it really look that good on me?"

Sapphire nods and tells her, "Yeah, you look great Ruby. It really goes great with your hair."

Ruby blushes slightly before sheepishly saying, "Okay, okay, but I'm not taking this dress, Coco. I hardly even know you..."

"Oh come on, it's fine. Besides, I need to get rid of a few things, so I thought, 'why not give them away?' Now, you're next Sapphire.", Coco replies with a grin. Coco then picks up an outfit she had sitting next to her before tossing it to Sapphire, who looks down at it with a confused glance.

"Coco, I don't know about this...", Sapphire says as she looks down at the puffy white shirt and brown pants.

Coco winks to the girl before telling her, "Trust me, it'll look good on you."

Sapphire lets out a heavy sigh before starting to change into this new outfit.

As Sapphire does this, Coco goes to her closet while saying, "Okay Ruby, I think I still have something you can wear with that." Coco rummages through many boxes of shoes before pulling out an old red shoe box. With one blow, the dust coating the lid is sent flying before she opens up the box to reveal its contents. Coco leans the box to show Ruby the crimson high heels in the box before saying, "Now try these bad boys on."

"Heels? I don't-", Ruby begins to say before Coco pats her back and tells her, "Come on, they'll look great on you. Just try them on.", before putting the box in her hands. Ruby looks down at the heels nervously before sitting down on the bed and slipping on the ruby slippers.

"I still don't know how I feel about this, Coco...", Sapphire says as she fixes her hair after finishing buttoning the poofy white shirt and fixing her pants. As she turns around, Ruby is surprised to see that Sapphire looks like she's dressed like a pirate.

Coco claps her hands together before saying, "Excellent! It looks pretty sexy on you, Sapphire."

"I look like a damn pirate! Is this some sort of joke!?", Sapphire shouts as she shakes her fist at Coco in her rage.

Coco lets out a giggle before saying, "Come on kid, lighten up a little~", and heading back into her closet for something.

"Could you be serious for one moment?", Sapphire growls with her arms crossed as Coco continues searching through the stuff in her closet.

Coco lets out a lone chuckle before saying, "I was getting to that part. So, Ruby, how'd you guys manage to get thrown into this program in the first day?" She lifts a large white box from the bottom of the closet before taking it to her bed and dropping it down.

"Well, we kinda...sorta...maybe blew up the Dust lab.", Ruby sheepishly replies earning a slight chuckle from the fashionista. "It was an accident, I swear!", Ruby exclaims in a panic as she waves her hands defensively.

Coco just chuckles at her childishness before saying, "It's alright, I believe you, Ruby.", and turning her attention to Captain Sapphire. "And I heard from Velvet what you and your team did.", Coco says in a more serious tone as she walks over to Sapphire. She's surprised when Coco places her hands on her shoulders and says, "Thank you."

Sapphire raises an eyebrow at this, and Coco notices before explaining herself, saying, "As you've probably heard, it's against the school's rules to start fights with anyone outside of sparring during Sparring class and personal training. That means that we wouldn't have been able to touch a hair on those douchbags' heads without getting kicked out of Beacon. So, thanks for dealing with those guys and getting Velvet out of that."

Sapphire just rubs the back of her head nervously as she looks away and says, "Well, it wasn't exactly by my choice exactly. Persi just kind of started the fight and it got way out of hand."

"Oh, is that so?", Coco asks as she takes her hands off Sapphire's shoulders before looking to Ruby. "Then you two have the same problem as leaders.", she says as she heads over to her over-sized box and opens it. The two other girls look over her shoulders to see the box is full of hats and tiaras of all shapes, colors and sizes.

"Hats?", Ruby asks with a confused look on her face, to which Coco grins.

The fashionista then pulls out a pirate hat and a tiara and shows them to the girls. "Being a lovable goof or a noble warrior is all well and good, but you have to remember that you're always wearing your leader outfit. And if your hat doesn't match your outfit, nobody's going to take you seriously now, will they?", Coco explains as she places the tiara on Sapphire's head and the pirate hat on Ruby's head. After dragging the two over to her standing mirror, Coco adds, "You need to make sure that your outfit matches completely, or those under you won't feel any need to follow you." As she switches their hats, she finishes her statement by saying, "Once you have the a matching hat for your outfit, you'll be one step closer to earning your team-mates' respect and loyalty."

"You guys getting this, or am I just talking to a brick wall here?", Coco asks, earning a nod from both of the girls. She smiles in response and says, "Good, but we're not done yet. We still have all kinds of 'bonding' to do~ Now let's get those clothes off and try on some more dresses, hmm?"

Sapphire and Ruby look to each other with worried looks before hanging their heads in defeat as Coco returns to her closet for more clothes.

* * *

Off in Vale, Fox, Weiss, and Reginald are walking the city streets. Fox is doing some Dust shopping for his team while Reginald and Weiss simply follow. As he picks up a Lightning Dust Crystal, Fox rubs the gem between his fingers before setting it down.

"Ugh, this is so tedious. Why do we have to help you with your shopping exactly?", Weiss complains, which causes Fox's ears to perk up.

As he picks up a ball of Water Dust, Fox feels the shape and size of the gem while saying, "Because the Headmaster considered both of your teams to be in need of some aid. And it seems like none of my team-mates wanted to deal with you two."

"You mean deal with her.", Reginald retorts, trying to correct him, which causes Weiss to growl.

"Me!? They likely wanted to avoid having to deal with a psychopath like yourself!", Weiss snaps back at him as she gets in his face with a glare and a point of her finger.

He pushes her back as he gets in her face as well, saying, "And you think they'd want to hangout with some uptight, thinks-she's-better-than-everybody snob like you? Yeah right! You Schnees are so arrogant, it's annoying!"

Fox simply continues his shopping as the two continue to bicker back and forth, throwing insult after insult at each other before Weiss finally snaps at Fox, saying, "Can we just leave now? I haven't been here for more than twenty minutes with this delinquent and I already have a headache." As Fox proceeds to purchase his chosen Dust Crystals, Weiss lets out a sigh of relief before saying, "Finally, now I can head home and-", but before she can finish Fox tells her, "We aren't done yet."

"Like it or not, we're stuck with each other until sundown. Now, I think I'll take you guys to my favorite place here in Vale.", Fox says as they leave the Dust shop.

Later they arrive at the Vale's docks, overlooking the open river that flows through Vale all the way from Beacon's falls to the ocean. As they follow Fox, he glides his hand along the railing separating them from the river. As his hand reaches a bent part of the railing, which seems to be pushed slightly out, he turns to his right and sits down on the bench across from the dent.

Weiss and Reginald look around for a moment before Weiss asks, "Why exactly are we here again?"

He pats the bench with his hands, after setting his bag in his lap, while saying, "Just sit down for a moment and relax."

Reginald doesn't hesitate at all and simply sits to Fox's right as Weiss, still a bit skeptical, says, "Why would I need to relax? I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much."

Fox simply shrugs before saying, "That's fine too, the bench isn't why I brought you two here anyways. This is."

The two wait patiently as they say nothing, waiting for something to happen, but nothing significant seems to happen. Weiss looks around with a confused look before glaring at Fox and barking, "Is this funny to you? Trying to trick us like this?"

"No, listen closely.", Fox says as he raises a finger and she begrudgingly complies and when she does, she's surprised. She hears the sound of the river flowing gently, not too loud, but not as still as dirt, and the sound of fish leaping into the air from the water. As she seems to relax a bit, her muscles relax and she lets out a sigh. "See? All that stress just melts away.", Fox says as he motions for the girl to sit down, which she reluctantly does. Fox relaxes a bit further on the bench, letting his head hang over the back of the bench as he faces the sky and says, "I come here every now and then when life's getting a bit tough. Sometime's, I'd just sit her for hours, listening."

"Ah, you know what? This isn't that bad.", Reginald admits as he stretches his arms and legs before putting his arms behind his head and propping his feet up on the railing in front of them.

There's a moment of silence between the three before Weiss asks, "So..what else do you do here? Do you watch the clouds? Anything else?"

Fox shakes his head no and Reginald raises an eyebrow at the girl before asking, "And how do you expect him to do that?"

"Excuse me?", Weiss asks in her usual preppy tone to which Reginald replies, "How is he supposed to 'watch the clouds' if he's blind, Snowflake?"

"He's blind?", Weiss asks and Fox replies with a nod.

As he continues to face the sky, Fox says, "You sniffed that out pretty quick. You're almost as nosy as Coco when we first met."

"But, how do you get around? More importantly, how can someone who can't see fight?", Weiss asks in disbelief as she turns to Fox.

Fox raises his hand to the sky and says, "I might be blind, but I can still see in a way. It's almost like a second semblance if I had to describe it in any way."

"Faunus already have heightened senses, and according to some studies: those who lose their eye sight tend to have their other senses boosted to compensate for their lack of vision. Given that, if I had to guess, you probably use some sort of echo location using sound-waves. Am I right?", Reginald says as he rummages through his vest's inner pocket.

As the silver boy pulls out a pack of cigarettes, Fox nods and says, "Bingo. You're pretty observant, kid."

Once the boy puts a cigarette in his mouth, Reginald lights it and takes a smoke break before saying, "I got a bit curious when I first saw your eyes, but when I watched you buying Dust earlier and when you were following so closely along the railing helped me put it together."

Fox lets out a slight grunt as he sits up straight and says, "Well, that's enough about me. What's so wrong about you guys that you got tossed into the Big Brother Program on the first day?"

"My team beat up a couple of idiots during lunch. They deserved it though.", Reginald replies as he takes his cigarette out of his mouth and points the lit end at Fox.

Weiss scoffs and replies with, "What's wrong with me? More like what's wrong with my team-mates! Our 'Leader', Ruby, is a complete dunce not to mention she's two years younger than all of us! Yang is too much of a goof and beyond reckless! And Blake lacks any communication skills whatsoever! Honestly, the only way this team could be any worse for me is if I was put on a team with him."

"Says the girl who does nothing but complain.", Reginald fires back after blowing some smoke her way.

She fans the smoke away from her face with a cough before snapping back, saying, "You jerk! How dare you!?"

"Because you're too cocky, that's why. Honestly, it's like you think you deserve to be leader or something.", Reginald replies as he leans back on the bench oncemore and looks off to the river with his cigarette in his mouth.

Weiss scoffs and adds, "Well we'd be better off if I was the leader. I wouldn't be goofing off during class and I'd have everyone put in their places by now."

"That's quite the statement, even from someone as skilled as you, Weiss.", Fox says with a raised eyebrow.

Weiss glares at the Faunus and snaps back, saying, "What would you know about being a leader? You're just some fashion queen's sidekick!"

There's an awkward moment of silence between the three as Reginald takes another drag from his cigarette. The silence is only interrupted when Reginald says, "Ouch, hitting the poor guy when he wasn't looking. That's a low blow, Snowflake, low blow."

* * *

Off at Beacon's Gym, Yang is doing bench pressing as Yatsuhashi spots her and Ash is practicing his barehanded fighting on a sand bag that's hanging from the ceiling. Yang stops her presses for a moment before telling Yatsuhashi, "I think I need more weight on there. Mind helping a girl out?", to which he simply nods.

As Yatsuhashi loads more weights on there for Yang, she goes on, saying, "You know, it's nice to have someone to talk to about these sort of things. Sometimes it's easier to just ramble on about these things to someone who isn't as involved." "I know she's my sister and all, but I'm not sure how I feel about having her on my team. I was hoping she'd branch out a little more and find more friends, but it seems like fate had something else planned, huh?", Yang goes on as Yatsuhashi finishes loading her weights and gives her a thumb up.

She lifts the weights up over the rack before letting her arms fall a bit, slowly lowering the weights. As she lifts them back up, she continues talking, saying, "I'm not mad we're on the same team or anything. That's not it at all! I just...I just want her to stop depending on her big sister coming to save her all the time. She needs to get stronger on her own, that way if I'm not there to save her, she won't need me to." She slowly drops them again as she asks Yatsuhashi, "Am I being selfish? Is asking so much from my baby sister really that much...? What do you think, Yatsuhashi?"

Once she asks this, she lifts the weights up oncemore and Yatsuhashi gets a ping on his scroll which he checks and his eyes seem to focus heavily on the message. "I have to go. I'll be back.", Yatsuhashi quickly replies before leaving the Gym with his scroll in hand.

Without Yatsuhashi there to help her, Yang's arms start to wobble and she says, "Yatsuhashi? Hey, Yatsuhashi! Yatsuhashi!" Before she can even process what's happening, her arms seem to give out on her and the weighted bar starts falling straight at her throat! Her aura flares as she braces herself for impact and as she shuts her eyes, she waits for the impact of the bar.

When she opens her eyes, she's surprised to see Ash has the bar and is lifting it up. His aura flares and he lifts the bar up to its pegs before dropping it down on them. Yang quickly sits up and turns to Ash before saying, "Thanks for that. Didn't expect my arms to give out on that much weight. I knew I should've stuck with 200 pounds."

Ash seems to give her a cold glare before going back to his training and saying, "You shouldn't be so reckless. You should aim to push yourself, but do so with more caution next time."

The blonde hangs her head, hiding her slightly red face with her hair, but perks up when she hears Ash ask, "Why are you afraid?" When she looks up at him, she sees he's glancing over at her over his shoulder, waiting for an answer.

"Me, afraid of anything? Please! I'm not afraid of nothin!", Yang confidently answers with her usual grin, but Ash only continues to glare at her.

The boy lands three quick blows on the sand bag, knocking it back a good bit before saying, "You're worried about your sister. You think something might happen to her and in the end you won't be there to save her." Yang's cocky grin fades as he says this and she watches silently as he dodges around the sand bag, landing blow after blow on the poor thing. Ash lands a powerful rising elbow on the bag before stopping it with one hand and saying, "It's good that you're questioning these things. People need others they can trust and depend on in these kinds of conditions, but by fearing some inevitable event that may or may not occur, all you're doing is setting a self-fulfilling prophecy in place that will only distance you from your sister and eventually your entire team."

Yang just chuckles at this before saying, "You think I'm gonna be distant? If anyone's distant, it's Blake. She barely opened up to any of us. She doesn't even take off that bow of her's when she's going to bed."

"Trust is a crucial part of teamwork. You have to trust that whatever your team-mate might be doing, they're doing it with a plan or some form of reasoning behind it and respect it.", Ash replies as he turns to the blonde with a slightly kinder glare than before.

Yang puts her chin into the palms of her hands before asking, "Yeah, but how can I get her to trust me if she doesn't let anybody in?"

"Blake will open up in time. For now, I'd suggest simply being there for her when she needs you. That's the best thing partners can do for one another.", Ash replies, earning a devilish grin from Yang.

Yang jokingly replies with, "Says the guy who threw his team off a cliff.", and Ash simply nods in response.

"Exactly. I trusted that they would be able to handle the situation while also avoiding that Grimm. Though we only knew each other at that point for a brief moment, I took a chance and put my faith in their abilities.", Ash replies with a raised finger, which causes the blonde to giggle.

Yang stops her giggling for a brief moment before saying, "I'm just talking your ears off, ain't I? Come on, it's your turn to complain."

He turns back to the sandbag, returning to his training, as he says, "I have no problems with my team.", which earns him a raised eyebrow from the girl.

"I get not having a problem with Sapphire, since she's one of the best fighters in our class, but Reginald's a reckless idiot and Persi is basically bipolar Superman...", Yang points out with a confused look on her face, but Ash doesn't seem to budge.

"They all have their positives and negatives. Sapphire is strong, but she lacks confidence in herself. Reginald has both skill and confidence, but he lacks focus. And Persi has the power to do great things, but his mind seems fogged by something. They aren't perfect by any means, but I can work with them.", Ash explains as he continues punching the sand bag.

Yang nods to his response before asking, "Okay, so what about you?", to which Ash stops the punching bag with both hands.

" _What about...me..?_ ", he thinks to himself as he down at the ground, still holding the sand bag still in his hands. He contemplates this for a moment before answering with, "I believe I have skill and focus, but I lack...motivation..."

"Motivation?", Yang asks, to which he nods in response.

"Correct. I feel as if I lack a purpose for being here. I left the temple to train here to help fight off possible Grimm attacks, but those are so far in between it seems almost...pointless. Yet, because of my skills and my abilities, I was told this was my path, so here I am.", he explains as he stops his training completely and looks down at his hands. As his gaze turns cold, he mutters to himself, "This is the path I walk, but not one that I've chosen."

They're both surprised to hear a voice say, "But in the end, it is your path and your path alone, so you must walk it..." They turn to see it's Yatsuhashi who said that as he walks over to them, returning from whatever it was he was doing on his scroll, while saying, "..to the very end."

Ash's gaze returns to his hands, which he clenches before looking to Yatsuhashi and nodding.

* * *

Blake, Persi, and Velvet are all walking through Beacon's gardens as Velvet weeds and prunes the area. Velvet crouches down and plucks a weed right out of the garden before placing it in Persi's basket. "Isn't this something Beacon's gardeners should be working on?", Blake asks with a raised eyebrow.

Velvet shakes her head no and replies with, "As Huntsmen, we should aim to help as many people as we can. No matter how minor the task, we should try our best to help every person we come across. This garden is one of the many tasks students are asked to take care of." She then presses a button on the box she has handing from the back of her belt and it begins to glow. The ominous blue light shoots out from the box and into her hands to form a pair of holographic hedge trimmers. She then uses these trimmers to cut the nearby unkempt bush back into formation with the other bushes.

"Whoa, I haven't seen anything like that before!", Persi exclaims as he watches the digital trimmers disappear back into the box.

"You think so? I made it myself.", the rabbit replies with a gleeful smile to which Persi and Blake both nod. Velvet holds up the box to them and says, "It uses a bit of Ice Dust, Lightning Dust, and Light Dust to generate the weapons. It took some time to build, and even more time to master, but it was well worth the time I spent on it."

Persi raises an eyebrow at this and asks, "But, if you have such a cool weapon and you're a second year, why were you just letting Cardin and his lackeys knock you around yesterday?"

The bunny girl's ears quickly flops down as she retreats back into her timid shell before she replies with, "Well...it's a bit complicated..." Turning away from the other two, Velvet looks back to the flowers and as she notices a wilting rose, she sheepishly answers with, "If I would've fought back like he wanted me to, I would've only been justifying his thoughts of the Faunus. Then he'd just move from me to some other poor girl who can barely defend herself, so I'm going to let him get his frustration and anger out on someone who can take it, rather than let someone else take on the risk. Who knows, maybe in the meantime I can find some way to befriend him and help him understand our point of view better? I can only try, right?", to which Persi and Blake glare.

"So you're putting yourself in harm's way just so this guy can get his socks off on beating down on those weaker than him? Why would you even bother trying to change someone like him? People like him never change.", Blake sternly replies as she gathers the cut off limbs on the ground and places them in her basket.

Persi ways in as well, adding, "All that'll do is get ya hurt, Velvet. I've dealt with guys like him all my life and trust me, all they do is get worse. It's better to deal with them now when they're young rather than when they're out there with a flamethrower and a God complex."

Velvet crosses her arms in response while saying, "I know my limits. Even if it's painful and it seems pointless, I'd rather make friends than enemies. Cardin is just...a bit challenging is all..."

"You mean he's a deranged sociopath that thinks he can do whatever he wants to us just because we look a bit different. I really don't understand it, Velvet.", Persi replies as he shakes his head.

She just pats him on the back and says, "You're worrying too much about me, both of you are. Shouldn't it be the other way around? You two got in some serious trouble yesterday. Especially you, Persi. You're extremely lucky that your whole team didn't get kicked out of Beacon for that fight." As she walks past the two of them, she motions for them to follow before saying, "Now let's get moving, there's weeds that need plucking and plants that need trimming!" They both look to her contagious smile and smile in turn before following her on her quest.

* * *

Later, once the sun begins to set on this day, all four groups meet up at the point where they first met. Velvet, Blake and Persi are covered in dirt, Sapphire's and Ruby's faces are covered in all kinds of makeup, Reginald reeks of fish, and Yang is drenched in sweat.

"Looks like we all had fun today.", Coco chuckles as she looks at the others.

"I can't believe you pushed him into the water.", Fox says, still somewhat shocked by what happened.

"I swear, I'll get you back for that Snowflake! Just you wait!", Reginald proclaims as he leaves alone.

Velvet looks to Yatsuhashi and asks, "So, have fun at the Gym?" The giant shakes his head no and Velvet sighs before asking him, "Your sister, she's still in the hospital, right?", to which he nods sadfully.

"Well, I'm all wet and sticky, and not in a good way, so I'm going home to get a shower.", Yang says before walking off.

Ruby follows close behind her, shouting, "Wait up Sis! I need some help getting all fifty layers of this makeup off! YANG!"

Blake and Persi look to Velvet and nod before leaving to return to their respective dorms, leaving Sapphire and Ash to deal with all of team CFVY.

Ash walks over to Sapphire and notices her makeup, but before he can say anything, she growls, "Don't ask. Let's just go home already." The mummy simply nods in response and they bid CFVY farewell before returning home together.

As the last of their siblings leave, Coco asks, "So, how'd they do?"

"I only heard a little bit, but it seems like Yang has a good head on her shoulders, but she worries far too much about her sister. Ash, however, seems to be doubting his reason to fight, but lacks no faults other than that.", Yatsuhashi explains with a slight smile as he crosses his arms.

Velvet scratches the back of her head nervously before saying, "Well, I really couldn't read Blake too well. She's a bit too mysterious, even for me, but Persi was like reading an open book. They're both really something else."

"The Ice Queen didn't have any troubles complaining about her partners the whole time, along with everything else. And as for Reginald, he tries to act like he doesn't have a care in the world, but I can sense that when he was talking to Weiss, he worrying about something.", Fox says as he throws his bag of Dust Crystals onto his shoulder, holding it with one hand.

"I wouldn't worry about Weiss too much, Ruby 'll get her to come around eventually. We just need to give them a little bit of time to get to know each other. As for Sapphire, she was just as expected: the unstoppable powerhouse fighter girl. But I'm still trying to figure out who she's trying to prove herself to?", Coco replies as she puts her hand to her chin and thinks about it for a moment. The fashionista suddenly snaps out of thought before snapping her fingers and saying, "Alright, team CFVY! Time to return to base! And tonight, Velvet's cooking dinner!"

"Again!? That's not fair Coco!", Velvet exclaims in despair.

She gives Velvet a quick pat to the butt before saying, "Come on now, Velvet. We all know you make my favorite dessert~", which causes the bunny's face to turn red.


	13. The Black Parade

As the sun slowly makes it's way over the horizon, team SAPR and RWBY walk through the streets of Vale with Velvet and Fox. "Why did you two drag us all out to Vale again?", Weiss groans in her usual snarky attitude and Ash looks around with a confused look in his eyes.

The boy sees all kinds of trash and confetti all over the road and sidewalks before asking, "What happened here? It looks like some sort of battle happened here."

Everyone else simply looks at him in confusion before Sapphire raises a finger and mentions, "Oh yeah, you said you hadn't been to any of the Kingdoms before, so this is probably pretty new to you, huh? These things happen all the time in the kingdoms."

As the boy raises an eyebrow at this, he only seems to be further confused before asking, "Do brawls in the streets happen on a daily basis in the Kingdoms?", to which Reginald shakes his head.

"Nah, this is just the aftermath of a parade. Vale, along with the other three kingdoms celebrate in whatever ways they can to help people stay happy and calm. It does look pretty messy though, so I'm not surprised you made that mistake.", Yang explains as she puts a hand on the wrapped boy's shoulder.

Reginald seems to look around at the decorations hanging from the streetlights before smiling to himself and saying, "It was the Black Parade. It helps us remember those we lost and all the good times we had together. It helps us remember that even though they might be gone, the bonds between us transcend even death itself."

"For a lack of better words, yes, that's the Black Parade, but that ended yesterday. And your jobs all start right now.", Fox says as he crosses his arms.

"Jobs? You don't mean-", Blake begins to say before Velvet nods and answers her, saying, "That's right, you all are going to have to clean up the messes left behind after this parade. There should be some trashcans around here somewhere that you can use."

As he lets out a heavy sigh, Persi rubs the back of his neck and says, "Well, there's no use complainin. Let's just get this over with."

"Well, let's do this team RWBY!", Ruby exclaims as she speeds forward with her semblance, picking up piece after piece of confetti and small pieces of garbage until her little arms are full. She then zips back to her team and tosses the trash all into the nearby trashcan before a wide grin comes across Ruby's face. As she looks to see her team-mates' amazement and aw, she's surprise to see they're all just glaring at her. "Uh, what did I do this time?", she asks sheepishly and with a heavy sigh, Yang puts her face in her palm and points to the street behind Ruby. And when Ruby looks, she sees what she had done, she had caused all the garbage she didn't pick up on her way through to go flying up into the air and shower the street in confetti along with knocking over other half-full trashcans in the process. She just raises a finger before saying, "Um, my bad guys...", and hanging her head in shame.

Reginald sighs and says, "Being demoted to a janitor, how annoying. I thought I signed up for fighting monsters, not confetti."

* * *

As Ruby sulks in her failure, Sapphire looks on at the chaos the hooded girl caused. With her one eye, Sapphire looks to her team's weapons then to team RWBY's weapons and snaps her fingers. "Alright, guys, I have a plan. Ash, Persi, Yang, Blake, you four will be holding cans.", the leader begins to explain and they nod in response. Pointing to Reginald and Weiss, Sapphire continues on, saying, "You two are going to use your weapons to build nets to help guide the garbage into their cans and keep them from blowing away with their cans."

"And we can blow all the garbage down the streets toward them!", Ruby exclaims as she figures out Sapphire's plan. "Alright, let's get to it!", Ruby exclaims as she grabs Sapphire's hand and pulls her along as she speeds down the street with her semblance.

As Yang, Blake, Persi, and Ash all get into position with their cans in hand, they feel something suddenly affecting their bodies, making them feel heavier than usual. Blake looks to the ground to see one of Weiss' glyphs, but this one is a dark black and she thinks, " _Is she using Gravity Dust with her semblance?_ ", before glancing over to Weiss, who's standing off in an alley as she checks her nails.

Reginald forms a large series of barriers that gradually shrink in size as they get closer to the four, eventually leaving a big enough opening for trash to freely move through right into their cans.

Ash and the others look to each other and Blake uses the ribbon on Gamble Shroud to wrap their cans' handles around their hands, keeping them from losing them. "Good idea, Blake.", Yang notes as she smiles to her partner.

Reginald then picks up his scroll and calls Sapphire to tell her, "We're good on our side. Just give us a heads-up when you're ready to go."

"Alright, good. Just give us a sec.", Sapphire says as she mutes her call with Reginald to talk to Ruby.

"So, what exactly do you mean we create a vortex?", Ruby asks with a slightly confused look on her face and Sapphire simply smiles. The blue warrior then points to her weapon and explains, saying, "My Azure Drakes each have some Wind Dust in them, so if I use a wind attack and blast it down the street as you run down it at top speed, all the garbage should follow you until you reach the cans. Once you do that, you just duck under the barriers and the trash should get caught in the barriers and be drug into the cans. Well, they should be, I don't know 100% that this plan will actually work..."

Ruby simply nods before saying, "It'll work. You're smart, Sapphire, so this plan can't possibly fail."

Sapphire simply chuckles at the girl's overwhelming optimism before saying, "Alright, let's just get ready to go. We won't know if it actually works until we try it out, right?", earning a nod from the little girl. Taking Reginald off mute, Sapphire tells Reginald, "Alright, Ruby's gonna be coming right for you all here in a few seconds, so be ready.", to which he sarcastically replies with, "Yes, Captain Cyclops!", causing her to growl at him before hanging up.

"Alright, Ruby, we'll start on 'Go,' got it?", Sapphire says, calming down a bit as she takes a deep breathe in, and Ruby replies with a quick nod. She lets it all out with one long sigh before drawing all five of her Azure Drakes then starting to count down from three. "Three", she starts as she presses a button on each of her swords, causing the cylinders to rotate until the reach the Wind Dust Crystals. As the blades begin to glow with a green light that creeps up from the cylinders, she continues her countdown, saying, "Two!" "One!", she says as her blades are engulfed in gales of wind that twirl around them like blade sized tornadoes. As she shouts, "GO!", she spins like a top before launching her five attacks all at once down the street!

Ruby speeds along with the raging tornadoes, which helps suck up all the trash and confetti.

With both hands clenched and his wires tensed as high as he can get them, Reginald sees a red blur zooming straight for them and begins to say, "Is that Ru-", but before he can finish, she flies by all of them.

The little red speedster skids across the ground as she slides under Reginald's barrier before the giant wave of trash chasing after her gets caught in the wires. But as the powerful gusts start to force the four back along with the impact of the trash hitting their cans, the glyph under their feet suddenly shatters. They start to get blown back, but Reginald quickly tightens his barrier to hold the four of them in place without hurting them, allowing them to catch the last of the wave of trash without missing a single piece of confetti.

* * *

As the wind finally dies down and Reginald releases his hold on them, the trash covered members of teams RWBY and SAPR all turn to Weiss, who's too busy looking down at her scroll to notice what's going on. "What the hell was that!?", Persi shouts at the heiress, but she simply ignores him.

Ruby walks over to her partner and gently asks, "Weiss, shouldn't you be helping?"

"With what? This degrading maid duty? No thank you. I value my time far too much to be doing this kind of dirty work.", the Ice Queen replies with a cold glare as turns her nose up at Ruby.

Yang stomps over to the heiress and growls, "We didn't even want you to pick up any of the garbage in the first place. We just need you to do one job. One!"

"Are you guys really surprised? She's a Schnee after all.", Reginald adds as he shrugs off her uptight behavior.

"What did you just say!?", Weiss bites back as she hears the silver boy's comment.

With a grin coming across his face, Reginald glances over at Weiss before saying, "You Schnees never want to get your hands dirty. All you ever do is have others do your work for you, it's sickening. I'm surprised any of you can even function."

"How dare you!? I'll have you know, the Schnee Dust Company is the-", Weiss begins to say, but Reginald cuts her off as he mocks what she's about to say, saying, "-is the biggest source of Dust throughout all of Remnant, blah blah blah. Look at me, I'm Weiss! My daddy taught me to throw money at people so they'll do all the hard work for me and let me take the credit!", as he does his best Weiss impression he can muster to mock the girl even further.

As the two go back and forth, exchanging verbal blow after verbal blow, Velvet looks to the fight with her ears starting to flop down onto her head and chooses to step in and says, "Alright, break it up you two." The rabbit Faunus looks to Weiss then to some workers down the street working on a nearby care center before pointing to it and saying, "Well Weiss, if you don't want to get dirty, maybe you can put your time in over there with those guys. It looks like all they're doing is moving things around the front part of the building, so it shouldn't be too much work."

Weiss glares over at Reginald, who seems more than proud of himself, before sticking her nose up in the air and leaving to go help over at the care center. As the heiress approaches the building, she meets two older men who are moving things around as a lawnmower sits off to the side. They notice her instantly and Weiss asks, "Do you two happen to need any assistance?", to which they happily nod.

"Of course, it'd be an honor to have a Schnee help us. And you'd definitely make better company than one of those critters over there.", one of the workers replies before glaring over at Persi, Fox and Velvet. Weiss smiles at this and starts helping them move their decorations around.

As she hears this, Velvet simply frowns while Fox pats her on her shoulder, trying to make her feel better.

Persi, however, grits his teeth and goes to say something, but Sapphire stops him as she places a hand across his chest, stopping whatever he was about to shout. The bear looks down to her and Sapphire says, "It isn't worth our time. Trust me. Besides, don't we have more important things to do.", and he reluctantly nods.

Surprisingly, Yang notices Blake, who's clenching her fist in frustration, as she sees this and the blonde asks her partner, "Hey, what's that all about?", which causes Blake to flinch.

Blake looks around before grabbing Yang by the arm and dragging her away from the others to somewhere more secluded. Blake pulls her partner into an alley where the rest of their team and Team SAPR can't hear them, and after looking around to make sure they're really alone, Blake admits, "I used to be an ally for the Faunus rights movement and things like that still get to me."

Yang lets out a slight chuckle before saying, "I guess it's a bit ironic that you got stuck on the same team as Weiss then. I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

Blake gives her partner a slight smile before saying, "Thanks, but we should get back to the others. It looks like they're getting ready for round two."

"Yeah, this place is a complete mess. It's gonna take forever to get this all cleaned up.", Yang says as the two head back over to the rest of the group to continue cleaning.

* * *

After almost an hour of cleaning, there are multiple bags of trash tied up and piled up next to Fox and Velvet and the streets are nearly perfectly clean. "And here's one more for the pile!", Persi sighs as he tosses another bag of trash on top of the pile.

As the grizzly boy dusts off his dirty hands, Velvet nods to the group and says, "Nice work, everyone. This place is already much better than it was when we first got here."

"Yeah, these streets are so clean, it's almost blinding. Don't you think, Fox?", Reginald says before looking to Fox with a cheeky smile.

As Fox hears this, the others are shocked by what they just heard and Sapphire elbows him and furiously says, "Reginald! You don't just say stupid stuff like that!"

Fox seems to glare over at Reginald before walking over to him with an irritated look on his face. Reginald only grins as Fox pulls his hand back, looking like he's about to hit him, but is surprised when Fox only puts his hand on his head and ruffles his hair. Fox just chuckles before saying, "Blind jokes? Do you think those jokes are funny or something? You're really shooting in the dark here, huh kid?"

All of SAPR along with what's left of RWBY look to Fox in complete disbelief at his response before Blake raises a finger and says, "That..wasn't the reaction we were expecting..."

"Well, though they're a bit cruel, Fox has probably heard every blind joke under the sun.", Velvet points out with a sigh before Fox adds, "Most of which are from my own partner, but that's alright. I'm used to her teasing, we all are."

Sapphire lets out a relieved sigh before looking to the rest of the two teams and saying, "Alright, this is probably the last round we have to do, so let's get this over with and go home.", to which everyone else nods.

Yang sighs as well, her aura seeming dimmer than usual as she replies with, "Yeah, if we don't get done soon I'll miss my training regiment."

"This should only take a moment. Let us know when you two are ready.", Ash says as he joins Blake and Yang as they grab the trashcans. Persi grabs his can and joins them as Sapphire and Ruby start walking back down the street and Reginald stands off to the sides as his wires extend to the others.

As Sapphire and Ruby walk together, Ruby is slouched over as she tries to catch her breath. "Come on Ruby, just one more time. Then you can go back to your dorm.", Sapphire says as she tries to keep Ruby moving, but Ruby only replies with a groan. Sapphire stops for a moment before happily saying, "Just think about all the cookies we'll make~", which causes Ruby's ears to perk up.

"Mmmmmm, home made chocolate chip cookies~", Ruby mutters to herself as a bit of drool dribbles from her mouth, which Sapphire chuckles at.

"See? If we don't finish this now, we'll be here all night.", Sapphire says as they finally reach the end of the street. The two turn around and look to each other before nodding.

Sapphire opens her scroll and calls Reginald one more time and when he answers, they hear him say, "Tony's Pizzas, home of the best Pizzas in Vale! How can I help ya?", in a clearly faked Western Anima accent.

Sapphire just groans before saying, "Alright, Reginald. We're in position. Stop screwing around and make sure everyone's ready for our last blast."

"One order of shut the fuck up and get to work, got it. We'll be ready for you, just send her down.", Reginald replies before she hangs up on him.

As Sapphire and Ruby prepare themselves for their final shot, Sapphire says, "Alright, Ruby, you ready?"

Ruby gives Sapphire a quick nod and says, "Yeah, let's do this!", before Sapphire starts counting down. She starts off saying, "Three.", as she draws her Azure Drakes and starts powering them with Dust. As soon as the blades start glowing with a light green glow, she says, "Two." "One.", she continues as the wind starts blowing around her blades, but before she can finish the countdown, she runs out of Wind Dust. The raging winds whirling around the blades suddenly disperse, leaving the cylinder once full of green Dust empty in each of her blades.

Ruby then shouts, "GO!", before rushing down the street with her semblance.

"Ruby!", Sapphire exclaims as the red blur dashes down the street, pulling almost everything with her along the way.

Blinded by her lust for chocolaty goodness, Ruby continues rushing down the road at full speed, thinking, " _I can't wait for those cookies! I'm gonna bake one the size of my head!_ " As the crimson blur starts to taste the cookies in her mind, she's forced back into reality when she sees a figure step out from a nearby alley into the middle of the road, but she can barely make out what they look like other than they look like a person. She immediately stops using her Semblance and drags her heels along the ground, trying desperately to stop before screeching to a hault mere inches away from the person.

When Ruby looks up to see who it might be, she sees it's another girl, one with orange hair complemented by a cute pink bow and green eyes with a grey dress over a white shirt with black thigh high boots and a black and green collar reaching from the top of her throat to her shoulders. The girl seems to smile to Ruby before giving her a salute and saying, "Sa-lu-tations!"

Before she can continue, she's hit in the head by a stray can from over Ruby's shoulder and her green aura blocks the random attack.

Ruby, slightly embarrassed, rushes over to the girl and says, "I'm so, so very, very sorry! I didn't see you there! Are you alright?"

The mystery girl snaps out of her daze and simply smiles to the girl before saying, "A-firmative! My aura protected me entirely from the flying piece of debree."

"Oh, thank the Gods!", Ruby says with a sigh of relief as she holds her chest. As Ruby manages to calm herself down, she happens to glance up at the girl to see a slightly awkward smile across the random person's face. "Ah, well, I gotta get back to it. I'll see ya later, friend.", Ruby says awkwardly before starting to walk over to Yang and the others, hoping to dodge the odd girl, who's still standing in the middle of the road staring at Ruby.

* * *

As she approaches her friends, Ruby's greeted by confused looks and Persi asks, "What happened? Do you need to take a break or something, Ruby?"

"No, I almost ran over some weirdo! This girl just kind of walked out into the middle of the road.", she explains as everyone seems to stare at her.

Yang snickers at her younger sister and asks, "So, did this girl happen to have orange hair perhaps?"

Ruby quickly nods before saying, "Yeah! It was short, kinda like mine with a pink bow in it or something."

"And she had green eyes and wore a dress like thing, right?", Blake adds with a slightly raised eyebrow, to which Ruby nods rapidly.

"Yeah! How'd you two know that!?", Ruby exclaims in a panic before there's a sudden tap on her shoulder and she nearly jumps out of her skin in terror. As the little red girl turns to see who it is, she sees the same girl from earlier was standing right behind her this whole time.

"Greetings. My apologies for scaring you. I promise, that was not my intention.", the girl says to her with a wave after Ruby lands on her butt.

Ash squints at the girl and asks, "Who are you exactly? And why are you following Ruby?"

"Yeah, did you suddenly get a girlfriend while I wasn't looking, Ruby?", Yang mocks with a wink, causing Ruby to blush.

"It's not like that! I already told you, we only ran into each other!", Ruby exclaims in a panic before looking to the girl for her two cents.

Yang just chuckles at her sister's expense the the young girl's face turns an equal shade of red as her hood before admitting, "I was just teasing you, no need to get so defensive about it~"

As Ruby growls at her older sister, Reginald reels in his wires while approaching the strange girl. "So you're here too? I'm surprised you were able to go out on your own in a place like this...Penny.", Reginald says to her with a slight grin as the two look to each other.

The girl seems to look at him with a confused stare for a moment before smiling happily at him and saying, "Oh, it's you Alpha unit! I didn't notice you at first. It's a pleasure to see you again!"

"You don't have to call me by that code name outside of missions, you know. You can call me Reginald.", he says with a slight grin to the girl.

"You wanna tell us who this girl is then?", Persi asks his partner with a confused glance.

Reginald chuckles to himself before pointing to the ginger girl and saying, "This is Penny Polendina. Back when I was still in Atlas, we worked together in the STG." Turning to Penny, Reginald smiles at the girl and says, "It's been a while, how've you been?"

"I am well, thank you for asking. But I do have a question about what she said about me a moment ago.", Penny replies before pointing over to Ruby.

Ruby begins to panic before quickly saying, "I'm sorry for calling you a weirdo! I didn't mean it, I swear! Don't kidnap me and lock me away in your top secret Atlesian Prison!"

"Not that, you called me your friend. Am I **really** your friend?", Penny says as she walks over to Ruby and completely violates her personal space.

Ruby, not sure what to say, looks to her friends and sister for an answer and sees them all giving her confused looks. Not sure what else to say, Ruby blurts out, "Sure. Why not?"

Penny's cold, almost emotionless appearance quickly shifts into full excitement as she does a slight hop while shouting, "Sen-sational!" "This is absolutely wonderful! We can do our nails! And do each other's hair! And talk about boys! Oh, it'll be lovely! I haven't had a friend before!", Penny quickly squeals in her excitement, causing everyone except for Reginald to stare at her in confusion.

Velvet points to her awkwardly before asking, "Does she always do this?", as she looks to Reginald for answers, to which he sighs.

"Penny's a bit...odd to say the least. But even this is a bit overboard for you. What are you even doing here, Penny?", Reginald says as he tries to pull the girl back into reality.

When she hears this, the red head stands up straight and says, "I'm here to observe Vale. I haven't been enrolled in any of the four academies yet, and my father always told me about how nice Vale was all year round, so I decided to come and visit, with his permission of course."

"Oh, so you're a tourist then?", Blake asks with a slightly less confused look on her face, to which Penny nods.

Persi chuckles at this and says, "Well, then we'll just have to be good hosts and show you around, huh?"

As his fox ears twitch, Fox raises an eyebrow at something before randomly saying, "Look who's late to the party.", which is accompanied by someone's heavy breathing.

They all look for the source and find it to be Sapphire, who's exhausted from trying to chase down Ruby. "You're..faster than I thought...", Sapphire manages to say before desperately gasping for air.

Reginald simply chuckles at her helpless state before saying, "And this is our all mighty leader: Sapphire Cobolt, Fearless and Undefeatable!"

"Hey, you try using five swords while managing to control each of their Dust regulators at the same time!", Sapphire snaps back through her weezing.

Penny looks around before eventually asking, "So, what exactly are you doing here, Reginald? It doesn't seem like any reconnaissance mission we've ever been on before."

"Well, it's less reconnaissance and more collection duty.", Reginald reluctantly answers the girl, and Penny nods.

Giving the boy a simple nod, Penny asks, "I see. Do you all need any assistance in the matter?"

Sapphire gives the girl a heavy sigh before saying, "Well, I kinda ran out of Wind Dust. So I can't do any more of those blasts."

"And I'm all outta juice. If I use my Semblance anymore, I'll probably pass out.", Ruby adds in nearly exhausted state.

"Then, if that's the case, I'll assist you in your mission.", Penny happily replies with a nod, earning a worried look from Reginald.

Persi notices this and asks Reginald, "What's that look for?"

"Well, Penny's got this...thing. If she gets too into something, it can get out of hand pretty quickly.", he replies as the ginger's backpack opens up and six identical swords float out. Reginald then adds, muttering under his breath, "Not to mention her weapon is a blatant ripoff of mine with some swords."

Raising her hand slight, Penny's blades start to rapidly whirl around, spin similar to the blades of a helicopter, blowing the trash around. The red head blows the trash around for a while, slowly gathering the last of the pop cans, candy wrappers, and other trash that riddles the street, before blowing it all at the four Huntsmen holding the trashcans.

They barely react in time to ready their cans and all manage to catch the trash in her mighty blast of air.

Though everyone else is a bit irritated by the girl's sudden actions, Ruby is astonished by Penny's weapons. With her eyes filled with wonder, Ruby rushes up to Penny and frantically asks, "Penny, what are those things!? They're awesome!"

"Oh, these? They aren't that impressive, really, friend Ruby. You haven't even seen their other form yet.", Penny says as Ruby invades her personal space.

Ruby then gets right in her face, uncontrollable curiosity boiling over in her eyes as she asks, "They have another form!? Do they turn into guns!? Penny, you HAVE to show me, PLEASE!"

Penny looks over to Reginald then back to Ruby and saying, "Um, I'm not sure if I-", but before she can finish, she loses focus and her blades shift to her left somewhat. With her weapons still spinning wildly through the air, Penny accidentally sends powerful gusts all to her left.

"W-what the!? RUBY!", a familiar voice shouts in their usual annoying tone, causing everyone to look to its source. They see Weiss trying desperately to hold her skirt down as the wind blows straight at her, trying to shoot her skirt into the air.

Penny panics and exclaims, "I'm so sorry!", before her blades all stop glowing and fall dead to the ground, motionless, before flying back into her backpack.

Before the backpack can even close all the way, Weiss is already on the attack, getting right in Ruby's and Penny's faces as she shouts, "What was that!? Were you trying to embarrass me!? Do you know who I am!?"

Penny awkwardly nods before saying, "You're Weiss Schnee, second oldest of Mister Schnee's children. It's a pleasure to meet you..?"

Weiss only growl at the ginger before turning away from her and saying, "I'm sick of you all already. I'm going home.", then walking off alone with the sound of her heels clopping against the pavement echoing down the empty street.

"Weiss! Wait, she didn't mean to- Gods dang it.", Ruby exclaims as she reaches out to stop Weiss, but she leaves before she can finish.

Reginald happily claps before telling Penny, "Mission success! Good job, Penny. You even achieved one of my favorite side goals: Piss off a Schnee!"

"That..that does not feel like a good thing...", Penny sheepishly replies with a slight frown as she finishes closing her backpack.

Ruby quickly grabs Penny's hand and says, "I'm so **SO** sorry about Weiss. She's just a little upset. She's like that a lot, but she's a good person, really!"

"I understand, friend Ruby.", the ginger happily replies as she nods to her new friend, to which Ruby smiles.

Fox and Velvet look to each other before Velvet says, "Well, your community service is over for the day. Good work everyone, and thank you for the extra help, Penny. Now you can all go back to Beacon and get to work on your homework."

Everyone except for Penny, Ash, Fox and Velvet seem to groan in response and Fox lets out a chuckle.

"Well, we have to go Penny. I'll see ya around, okay? Maybe we can have lunch sometime?", Ruby begins to say as they all start walking off together, leaving Penny behind as she waves them off.

Sapphire stops her in her tracks however and Ruby looks to her with a confused tilt of her head.

The blue warrior simply points to Ruby's scroll and Ruby instantly understands before exclaiming, "Frick! I forgot to give you my scroll number! Okay, here it is!" The little red girl rushes back over to Penny and holds her scroll out to her before Penny taps her own scroll against it, and as they meet, a bing noise comes from both devices and they both seem to smile. "Alright, I'll talk to you later, Penny!", Ruby exclaims as she waves her off, walking with the rest of the group as she watches as Penny waves back at her until she's completely out of sight.

* * *

As the two teams walk together, Fox and Velvet leave to go meet their own team in town, and the two teams of first year Huntsmen in training come across a crime scene. It's blocked off by yellow tape, but they can see the building's windows and door are completely busted and there are bullet holes in the brick wall of the establishment.

"A gun shop? What the hell's goin on?", Persi asks as he walks off toward the scene of the crime.

An officer quickly prevents him from even touching the yellow tape and says, "Sorry kid, this is official police business. Move along, if we need a Huntsman, we'll call for one. Preferably one with more experience."

Persi starts to growl at them, but stops when he feels someone touching his shoulder. He quickly peers back to see it's Ash and the rest of his team with him.

"It's alright.", Ash says, which surprisingly works and Persi lays off, taking a step away from the yellow tape.

Instead of just leaving, Reginald rummages through his pocket before pulling out a badge and showing it to the officers as he says, "Atlesian STG, fill me in, now."

The officer looks at the badge as his partner walks out from inside the shop, and says, "Atlesian STG? Who would've thought one of you kids would be walking around here."

"The STG? Must be serious.", his partner says as he walks over and looks at the badge as well.

The first officer nods to the boy and explains, saying, "Well, it doesn't take a genius to tell that this store was shot up and robbed. We think it's-", but before he can finish, his partner finishes his sentence by saying, "The White Fang."

The two teams look to each other before Reginald says, "Tell us what else you've learned."

To this, the two officers simply shrug and the first officer says, "Well, that's about it. We have very little evidence other than a hunch. No video footage, no shell casings, and the shopkeeper doesn't even remember seeing anybody near his store and all his security footage is completely destroyed."

"So what makes you think the White Fang did this then?", Blake quickly asks with a glare aimed at the two officers.

The officers look to each other before looking to the girl and replying with, "Who else would need so many weapons and ammunition? They're the only people that would want to steal weapons in mass numbers."

This only infuriates Blake further, as she takes another step toward them and as she points right at one then the other, she furiously asks, "So you think just because they're Faunus that they're the only ones who could've stolen these weapons? That's racist! Not all Faunus are thieves!"

As she finishes saying that, they all hear someone shout from the nearby docks, "Someone stop that Faunus! Get back here you stupid stowaway!"

The Huntsmen all turn and run to the source to see a boy with short blonde hair hanging from his monkey tail as he peels a banana as he says, "I'm not a stupid stowaway! I'm a great stowaway! A stupid stowaway would've gotten caught!"

The two officers leave their crime scene and rush down to confront him, and as they do so the original officer saying, "Alright, kid. Stop monkeying around and get down from there. You're going down to the station."

The boy only smiles at the officer before throwing the banana peel at him, nailing him right in the face before jumping down and springboarding himself off of the partner's face to the higher level that the two teams are at. As the boy rushes by the two teams, he seems to look at Blake and wink before sprinting off down the street.

Reginald quickly sprints after him while shouting, "Don't worry, losers. We'll go clean up this mess. You just babysit that gun shop for us!"

The rest of team SAPR quickly follows after Reginald as the two officers finally reach team RWBY, who're not sure if they should follow or not. Before they can make up what they should do, the two officers rush by them and chase after SAPR and the monkey boy, shouting, "This is police business! Don't get in the way!"

* * *

Following the monkey Faunus, Reginald runs down an alley as the boy knocks over a support pillar with the staff that he pulls off his back, causing barrels to roll down from the rooftop. These aren't a problem, however, as Reginald uses his Silver Lining to quickly cut the barrels into small chunks before latching onto the corners of each building and launching himself closer to the culprit.

The monkey boy manages to pull another trick, however, as he jumps up into the air and claps his hands together, forming three identical clones made of aura that launch him up to the rooftops before they fade into nothing.

" _Is that his Semblance? Doesn't matter, we have to catch him! I'm not letting him make a monkey out of me!_ ", Reginald thinks to himself before shouting, "He's going to the rooftops! Try to keep up!"

The silver boy quickly pulls himself up to the top of the nearby building and continues his chase after the boy. " _This guy's pretty stubborn. I've dealt with people like him before though_.", Reginald thinks as he grins to himself.

The rest of SAPR are quickly closing in behind them and as Ash looks to Persi, he tells the bear boy, "Persi, throw me up there."

Persi doesn't hesitate for even a second and simply grabs Ash by his shirt and chucks him up to the top of a nearby building, and Sapphire shouts, "We'll follow you guys down on the street level, just don't lose him!"

As Ash lands, he tucks and rolls into a full on sprint with his legs glowing with his grey aura, allowing him to quickly catching up to Reginald before asking, "Where do you think he's going?"

"No idea, but he can't run forever.", Reginald replies quickly as he unleashes more of his wires, aiming to catch the boy in a trap, but the boy leaps over the trap and uses his hairy tail to swing across a nearby poll and leap across a giant gap between the two buildings.

Down on the ground level, Sapphire and Persi are following after Reginald's and Ash's dots on their scrolls and Sapphire just grits her teeth in frustration. "Looks like I have no choice. Come on Persi, follow me.", Sapphire growls as her eye begins to glow with her blue aura and she draws her Azure Drakes. Persi nods and follows her without question as Reginald and Ash continue to follow after the monkey boy, Reginald leaping across the giant gap and doing a rolling landing to keep his momentum and Ash simply running along the wall like a ninja and leaping down to the correct roof as they chase after him.

" _What the hell are these guys!? They're keeping pace with me way too easily! They have to be Huntsmen too, right?_ ", the monkey boy thinks in a panic before suddenly stopping at the ledge of a building. As he looks down, the monkey boy sees he has nowhere else to go as he's run out of rooftops to leap and there's now only a giant river in his path. "I'm trapped?", the boy asks himself before turning around to see Reginald and Ash standing there with their weapons ready to attack.

Reginald points at the boy before telling him, "Alright, you've had your fun, now stand down and let us take you in."

"If you put down your weapon, we can solve this peacefully. You're a Huntsmen like us, aren't you? We'll just take you to Headmaster Ozpin and we can resolve this without violence.", Ash suggests as holds a hand out to the Faunus, trying to solve the problem peacefully.

Reginald, however, cracks his knuckles as he growls, "Or you can make the first move and we can beat the crap out of you. Personally, I'd prefer the second option. It's much more fun that way, at least for me it is." The boy suddenly gets a smug look on his face as he takes a step back and feels the ledge right behind him and Reginald says, "Now, go on, choose!"

"I choose...neither.", the boy confidently replies before taking another step back and goes tumbling backwards off the building.

* * *

As the boy plugs his nose and prepares do dive, he closes his eyes, waiting for the splash of water to come across his face, but it never comes. Curious, he opens his eyes to see he's floating mid air with black Gravity Dust twirling around him. "Dust? But that means-", he begins to say before hearing Sapphire say, "We caught him."

The monkey boy looks down to see Sapphire using the Gravity Dust from all five of her Azure Drakes to keep Sun suspended in midair as Persi simply points his shotgun at the boy. Realizing he's been defeated, the monkey Faunus holds his hands up in defeat and proclaims, "Okay, okay, I give. I give, now put me down before I hurl!"

"Reginald, tie him up!", Sapphire shouts and the boy finds himself being wrapped in a thick amount of wires, preventing him from escaping as she slowly lowers him to the ground. As his staff falls to the ground, the tan blonde boy gently falls to the ground, unable to move due to his restraints.

Reginald and Ash both leap down from the rooftops, Reginald zipping down using his Silver Lining while Ash simply leaps from wall to wall down to the street level. "Now, who are you and why are those guys after you?", Sapphire asks as she holds her blade to the boy's neck.

The boy nervously chuckles before saying, "Hi, I'm Sun, Sun Wukong. I'm a second year from Haven Academy."

"So you actually are a Huntsmen after all. But why are you here?", Ash asks as he kneels down to Sun.

"I wanted to check out Vale. I thought that this place would be better to us than Mistral. I guess I was wrong, huh?", Sun replies in a slightly saddened tone as he looks at himself in a nearby puddle.

Sapphire and her team-mates look to each other, not sure what to do now, and Sapphire lets out a heavy sigh. The confident leader goes to say something before hearing the sound of someone running through the alleys behind them.

"Come on, we have to find that Faunus! He couldn't have gone far! Split up!", one of the officers shouts from down the alley.

The young Huntsmen look to each other before their gazes all meet Sun. "Persi, pick him up. I have a plan.", their leader orders as she looks over to a nearby green dumpster.

"Wai-", Sun begins to say before Persi covers his mouth and growls, "Don't make a sound.", before lifting him up.

Ash flips the lid to the dumpster open and Reginald's wires quickly unravel from around Sun's body before Persi tosses the boy and his staff into the trash and slams the lid shut.

Almost instantly, the two officers along with another person, who's dressed in a sailor's uniform, run right into where team SAPR is waiting. "Hey, it's those kids.", the sailor says with a confused look on his face before one of the officers says, "This stops here kids, where'd he go?"

"The Faunus boy? He's been dealt with.", Reginald coldly answers as he looks to the officers with an equally cold glance.

"Dealt with, where is he then?", the other officer asks and Reginald points to the water and says, "If you want the body, well, what's left of it that is, it's down there. Have fun picking up the pieces though. They're probably already being munched on by some fish."

Horrified by his reply, the officers and the sailor take a step back as Reginald takes a step toward them, causing them to flinch. One of the officers and the sailor take another step back while the first officer stands his ground and grits his teeth, thinking, " _So this is kind of talent from the STG. This boy's a monster..._ "

"What? You wanted him dealt with, didn't you? Maybe you want to join him then, hm? Come on, say something!", Reginald says in a somewhat twisted tone as his wires go flying around the alley wildly, causing the full grown adults to run in terror.

As the adults run off with their tails between their legs, Reginald looks back to his team-mates with a cold glare. Sapphire goes to say something, but before she can do so, Reginald bursts into laughter, holding his stomach as it starts to cramp up. "Did you see those guys!? There were complete pussies! Alright, Sun, you can come out now.", Reginald says through his laughter before looking to the dumpster.

The silver boy goes to open the dumpster, but as he opens the lid partway, he's greeted by two shotgun barrels pointed directly at his face. "I just saved your ass, and you're thanking me with this shit? Do you really want to piss me off?", Reginald asks with a slightly irritated tone as Sun glares up at him.

With his fingers on the triggers, Sun says, "Sorry, but after that, I don't think I'm gonna trust you that easy."

"Fine, have it your way.", Reginald replies with a grin on his face before finishing, saying, "If you want a fight, I'll give you one!" With a flick of his wrist, Reginald's wires go flying toward the dumpster, but when he hears Persi shout, "That's enough!", his wires stop and fall to the ground.

"That's quite enough, Reginald. Back off, now.", Sapphire growls with her arms crossed and a glare focused on the boy, but Reginald just chuckles before complying to their wishes and reeling in his wires.

Regianld walks off on his own with his hands lazily placed behind his head as he says, "You guys aren't any fun. Screw you guys, I'm going home."

As Reginald takes his leave, Persi puts his shotgun on his back and holds a hand out to Sun, who takes it without hesitation. "I'm sorry about Reginald, he's a pain in the ass.", Persi apologizes to the boy as he pulls him out of the dumpster.

Sun gives him a confused look before saying, "He said that he killed me, dismembered my body, and threw my pieces in the river. He's a little more than just an ass, he's a sociopath."

"Reginald might be a bit hostile, but in the end, he means well. He did save you in the end after all. You should not take such things for granted.", Ash says as he starts walking away.

Persi then looks to Sapphire who takes a deep breath before saying, "We should get going. If we stay here too long, we might not be able to get back to Beacon."

"Yeah...just get somewhere safe, alright Sun?", Persi suggests to him with a slightly worried look to his Faunus brethren.

Sun simply nods and Persi and Sapphire walk off together as Sapphire says, "Well, we better head back now. Who knows what Reginald and Ash might get themselves into without us."

* * *

Later that night, in Team SAPR's room, everyone seems asleep in their beds, with the exception of Ash, who's sitting in his usual meditative state. Ash lazily opens his eyes and sighs as he says, "Insomnia. How...unpleasant." The boy gets out of bed and looks to the door and thinks, " _Maybe a walk will help? Something to clear my head..._ "

As Ash walks out of the dorms and into the open campus, he looks up to see the the fully lit, shattered moon is high up in the sky. "The night is truly peaceful here in Vale.", the boy mutters to himself as he walks across the campus. As he's walking, Ash can hear the faint sound of gunshots off in the distance.

Curious, Ash goes tracks the source of the gunfire to the Amphitheater. When he gets closer, Ash hears someone groaning and shouting accompanied with the sounds of more gunfire. Peeking around the corner, Ash sees Yang training all alone.

As the blonde throws one more punch, some of her hair covers part of her face as she continues to breath heavily. Yang lazily pushes her hair back before flicking her wrists, causing her Ember Celica to open up and two red clips of shotgun shells come flying out.

"It seems I'm not the only one who can't sleep.", Ash notes, causing the blonde to jump before she can reload her weapons.

Yang quickly turns around to see him as she nervously says, "Ash!? I-I didn't hear you coming. You're pretty good at sneaking up on people."

Ash walks over to the blonde as she manages to pull out a couple shotgun clips for her weapons from her back pockets.

Yang throws the ammunition up in the air before they land perfectly in her weapons, and she cocks her guns with a pump from both of her fists. "Yeah, I didn't have time to get my daily training in, and I didn't want to skip on anything. I don't want to be left behind by Sapphire and the others, right?", Yang explains as she walks over to a punching bag she has setup in the center of the battlefield.

As the blonde throws a punch at the punching bag, Ash walks down toward the center of the Amphitheater as he says, "You know, practicing on a stationary target is inefficient."

Yang turns to the boy and smiles before asking, "Is that some sort of offer?"

"I believe we can learn something from each other. From what I've learned from the few times that I've encountered you, Yang, you've been reckless, lazy, and to a point, a complete goof.", Ash begins to say, which causes Yang to scowl before asking, "What's the point you're trying to make again? Because to me it sounds like you're making fun of me, Ash." "And I admit, I've been a bit ignorant to your way of doing things. I don't really know what to do in my free time and interactions between others are...awkward, to put it bluntly. But you seem to get along with everyone, so perhaps we can teach one another something?", Ash continues as he walks over to her, nervously holding his right arm with his free arm.

Yang lets out a slight laugh before saying, "Sure, I could always use a sparring partner."

Ash quickly draws his sword, pointing the sharp blade at the blonde as it shimmers in the artificial light, before saying, "Then let's get this started then.", and rushing toward her.

Yang quickly lunges at him with her fist pulled back, ready to throw a punch, and as their weapons collide, they look into each other's eyes with complete and utter focus.


	14. The Princess vs The Prince

It's another day at Beacon and students are walking out of Professor Oobleck's class, having just sat through another one of his long, drawn out lectures. As all of team SAPR walks out of the classroom, Reginald lets out a long yawn before saying, "Can these lectures get anymore boring? All he's doing is telling us shit we already know."

"I feel these lectures are quite useful.", Ash admits, earning a sigh from his partner.

Sapphire smiles over to Ash and replies with, "That's just because you haven't had these stories drilled into your brain for the last eight years."

"I just wish he wasn't running all over the place when he's lecturing. I can barely focus on my notes when he's doin that.", Persi groans as he rubs the back of his neck.

"You could always borrow some of my notes, you know. We're team-mates after all.", Sapphire suggests and the Faunus boy nods in response before saying, "That'd be great, thanks."

"Mind if we borrow your notes too, Sapphire?", someone asks her from behind and they turn around to see Ruby and Yang standing there.

Sapphire simply lets out a slight chuckle before asking, "And what exactly happened to your notes?"

As Blake walks out of the class, she gives the answer, "These two don't take notes. Yang just sleeps and Ruby either spaces out or doodles all over her notebook."

Reginald just laughs at this before asking, "Who even needs to take notes?"

"Normal people, that's who.", Blake bluntly replies, causing Reginald to grab his chest as she stabbed him right in his pride.

Reginald lets out a slight groan from the pain and Sapphire says, "I don't see why not. Maybe Weiss and I can compare notes and our teams can study together?"

Ruby looks around for a moment before asking, "By the way, where did Weiss go? Did she leave us again?"

"She left the room before we did, so I don't think I saw where she was going. But, she did seem to be rushing for some reason.", Ash explains, earning a slightly raised eyebrow from Weiss' team-mates along with Reginald and Persi.

The group starts walking through the hallway together as Sapphire says, "We'll just have to ask her when we see her next. She probably just wanted to get ready for Sparring class before anyone else got there. Maybe she has something planned..?"

As they walk through the halls, they hear Weiss shout, "Why not!?"

They all stop and Sapphire peeks around the corner to see Weiss is talking to Glynda in front of her office. As the rest of her team and team RWBY glance around the corner to see what's going on, Glynda replies with a glare to the young girl while saying, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Schnee, but I have to agree with the Headmaster's decision this time. Reassignments, though they aren't uncommon, are only used under the most important circumstances."

"Then what circumstances do I have to be under to get rid of this annoying group of idiots!?", Weiss growls, earning a raised eyebrow from the Professor.

As she pushes up her glasses, Glynda replies with, "There are three main ways in which reassignment will be allowed in any group." "One way, is you get held back due to low grades or performance.", Glynda explains as she holds up one finger. The professor raises a second finger and says, "Your team or partner is gravely injured during a mission, leaving them unable to continue on toward a career as a Huntsmen or Huntress."

Weiss looks to her, slightly irritated, before asking, "None of those things will help me. What's the third one then?"

Glynda simply walks past her before saying, "That would be death. Now please get to class Miss Schnee. You know how much I hate tardiness." As the teacher walks to her classroom, she glares over at Sapphire and the others before telling them, "The same goes for you all. Get to class."

Weiss raises an eyebrow at this before they all step out from behind the corner and she sees her whole team standing there as Glynda heads to her next class. "Yeah, let's get to class guys.", Yang says with a slight growl before leaving with Ruby and Blake following behind her, leaving Weiss alone with team SAPR.

As the rest of his team goes to class, Reginald grins at Weiss' expense before saying, "Looks like you can't cry your way out of this one, Snowflake!"

Weiss only growls as the infuriating boy leaves for class, getting the last laugh.

* * *

Moments later, Glynda is standing in the middle of the Amphitheater's arena, looking up at her students with her scroll in hand. "Alright, children, as of this moment, class has begun. I hope you all brought your scrolls this time-", Glynda begins to say before clearly glaring over at Jaune, who's innocently smiling as he nods. And after she's finished harassing the boy, the professor continues with what she was doing, saying, "-because we will be sparring with our partners today."

"Now, I expect you all to-", Glynda begins to say as she begins to walk out of the arena before Weiss stands up and shouts, "No!" Glynda just glares at the princess before asking, "Is there a problem, Miss Schnee?"

"Is there a problem!? Of course there's a problem! Why would I ever consider sparring with a child!? Even if she's considered a Huntress in training, she's not even close to the amount of skill I have! She isn't worthy of my talent! I demand another sparring partner, now!", Weiss shouts as she stomps her heel like a rampaging child.

Ruby shoots up out of her seat and tries to defend herself, shouting, "I'm not 'worthy' of your talents!? Just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean you have to treat me like I'm some kid! I'm not some toddler with a gun, I'm a great fighter! You'd know that if you would have figured out if you tried to be a better partner instead of just being a pain in the butt all the fricking time!"

As the argument quickly turns into an insult throwing competition, Glynda's cold, calculated look turns sour in frustration and once the girls' shouting finally reaches her last nerve, she shouts, "ENOUGH!"

This causes everyone to go silent, seeing their calmest professor finally lose her cool, but Glynda quickly bounces back, fixing the glasses on her face with a single finger before looking to the two girls and saying, "Very well, if you don't want to spar against , I can change that for you, Miss Schnee."

"Thank you very much, Professor.", Weiss happily replies before returning her glare to Ruby, who's glaring back at her.

"Do not thank me by any means, because I'm changing your entire match. That goes for you as well, Miss Rose.", Glynda replies, causing both of them to turn to her with a confused look. The giant screen behind her suddenly lights up and Glynda says, "You two will be participating in a 2 on 2 match. Perhaps this will help you two find some common ground and stop your bickering?"

As she says this, Ruby's and Weiss' pictures light up on the left two panels while the right two panels continue to spin. Beyond displeased, Weiss and Ruby walk down to the arena, glaring at one another as they growl under their breaths.

As the girls step into the arena, Glynda presses a button on her scroll and says, "Remember, once your opponent's aura levels have dropped below 15%, they are officially unable to continue and are at that point no longer in the match. And doing any action that would cause harm to your opponent after this point is grounds for disqualification in all official tournaments here in Vale."

"Come on Professor, we all know the rules by now. There's no need to recite them to me every time.", Weiss complains, to which Glynda sighs and says, "You weren't exactly the one I was trying to tell, Miss Schnee. It was-", but before she can finish, someone starts laughing in the crowd.

Weiss, already on her last nerve with Ruby and Glynda at this point, shoots her glare up into the stands to see Reginald standing up and laughing uncontrollably. "Oh, this is gonna be good! I haven't got the chance to fight in here since we got here, and Snowflake and Little Red are our opponents! Even better!", Reginald exclaims, overjoyed by this.

Persi stands up and says, "Ya need ta calm down. It's just a light spar."

He turns to Persi with a grin on his face before saying, "Oh, it's WAY more than a spar! I'm not holding anything back anymore!" Reginald leaps from his spot in the stands and lands on the opposite side of the arena from Weiss and Ruby before saying, "I think I'm gonna beat that 'holier than thou' attitude out of you for good, Snowflake!"

Sapphire just sighs before saying, "Persi, just do what you're told and spar with them. But do try to keep Reginald from killing anyone, okay?"

"I'm not his keeper, but I'll try, alright?", the bear replies before picking his axe up off the floor and walking down the stairs to his partner's side.

* * *

As the two partners look to each other, they nod before turning their attention to Weiss and Ruby as Glynda presses another button on her scroll, starting a countdown on the giant screen. There's a loud beep as the number 3 appears on the screen and the countdown begins. It's followed by another beep as a 2 appears on the screen and Weiss and Ruby both draw their weapons. A 1 appears after that, followed by yet another beep as Ruby cocks her Crescent Rose and the cylinders on Weiss' Myrtenaster rotate and stop on the Ice Dust. This ends with one last beep as the word 'GO' comes across the screen and quickly fades to show their full aura levels under their pictures.

Reginald quickly sends his wires flying toward the two girls, but they both manage to dodge his telegraphed attack by leaping in opposite directions.

Ruby speeds around Reginald's wires and tries to use her amazing speed to move past him with her scythe to her side, aiming to slice him for massive damage, but her blade is blocked by the blade of Persi's Riptide. "You're fast, but it's gonna take more than just some speed to take us down.", the Faunus boy says as he parry's her attack and goes for a counter strike.

The red blur uses her semblance to zoom out of the range of the bear's swing, but Persi rushes in and goes for another downward slice, which she manages to block it.

While the hooded girl fights the furry Faunus boy, Weiss is using her glyphs to jump around Reginald's multiple wires. "Is that all you Schnees can do, run away!? That's just pathetic!", Reginald exclaims as he sends his wires flying across the arena. As the boy's wires surround the heiress, Reginald clenches his fist and they suddenly converge in on her, but she manages to block the attack by surrounding herself in a wall of ice.

"Man, it looks like Reginald wasn't kidding. He really isn't holding back.", Yang says in amazement as his wires cleanly cut through Weiss' ice wall and she leaps out of the way at the last minute with the help of a Gravity glyph.

Sapphire gives the blonde a nod before saying, "Reginald might be full of himself sometimes, but he definitely isn't bluffing. His skills are without a doubt exceptional.", as she focuses on his fluent movements and rapid attacks.

As Reginald's whirls his wires around Weiss, waiting for an opening, he begins to laugh to himself as Weiss keeps up her defensive stance. Irritated by his laughter, Weiss shouts, "What's so funny!? Are you laughing out of fear or did you lose your mind!?"

"You Schnees...you're all so full of yourselves, it's really sickening!", he exclaims as his wires twirl in, slashing at her, but she manages to block the attacks with her rapier. As more wires come in and manage to graze the girl's back, Reginald continues on with his rant, shouting, "You think that just because you have that damned family name that you can do whatever you want to whoever you choose!" And as these comments all catch Weiss off guard, wires suddenly wrap around the girl's leg and with a grin on his face, Reginald shouts, "Someone has to make you all pay for what you've done! Every person your family's crushed on its way to the top, you'll feel their pain!" Reginald quickly turns his entire body, putting his full strength into throwing Weiss across the battlefield like a ragdoll! As Weiss slams into the ground, she loses a solid 20% of her aura!

* * *

This attack catches both Ruby and Persi off guard, causing them to look over to see what's going on, but quickly returning their attentions to each other as Ruby takes this situation to use her semblance and get away from the Faunus.

Persi twirls his axe around in his hand before transforming it into its shotgun form and unloading three shots at the hooded girl.

The first two miss the girl, but right as she goes to fire back, she's nicked by the last one, which only does 6% of her aura. This causes her aura to flare up a little, but nothing serious as she quickly waves off the pellets and gets straight into shooting, unloading four shots of her own, which Persi quickly blocks with his shotgun. A

cocky smile comes across the boy's face as Persi says, "Nice shootin, but you'll have ta take better shots if ya wanna hit your target!" The Faunus goes to fire, but the trigger doesn't budge, and when he looks down to his weapon, he sees the trigger is frozen in place.

Ruby lets out a quick chuckle, which earns his attention, and when he looks back up at her, she has her barrel pointed straight for his head as she says, "I'm a sniper, I don't miss my target." The crimson sniper quickly pulls the trigger, sending a bullet right into his forehead, causing him to reel back a bit as he loses 10% of his aura.

"Yeah, go Ruby!", Yang exclaims as she throws her fist into the air, and Sapphire chuckles. The blonde looks to her friend with a slight glare before asking, "What are you laughing at? Ruby's beating his ass."

"Because, she just pissed Persi off. And Persi's a whole different beast once he's pissed off.", Sapphire explains as Persi's aura begins to whirl around him and he quickly slams his weapon into the ground, shattering the ice around his weapon instantly before switching it back into an axe.

With one swing of his axe, even though Ruby blocks the attack, Persi manages to send the girl flying through the air like a ragdoll. "Ya can't shoot that gun if I'm right in your face!", the bear boy shouts as he rushes Ruby down, his orange aura glowing around his legs as it amplifies his speed.

The girl manages to switch Crescent Rose back into its scythe form before blocking the attack, but it's still has too much power behind it for her to hold her ground.

"Let's see which one of us can take more damage!", Persi exclaims in his rage as he slams his axe down at Ruby, who manages to dodge out of the way of the the blade hits the ground, the floor shatters and pieces of it go flying everywhere.

Every student in the audience is left in complete aw by the raw power except for Sapphire and Ash, while Glynda looks on, not amused by this destruction. "It seems like he's getting a bit out of hand now.", Ash notes as Persi continues to lash out at Ruby, who keeps dodging his attacks without having enough time to counter.

Sapphire looks up at Persi's aura bar and as she sees it slowly going down, she says, "Yeah, he's using up his aura just to chase Ruby down. He'd be better off switching spots with Reginald and fighting Weiss. What are those two thinking...?"

Ruby manages to speed past him with her scythe and graze him across his stomach, reducing Persi to 75% of his aura.

Persi isn't phased by the attack, however, and manages to spin around and slam the little red girl with the back of his axe, sending her flying and doing a massive amount of damage, leaving her with only 60% of her aura. As Ruby reels back from the attack, Persi rushes in again and lands a quick three hit combo of slashes, leaving the poor girl with only 45% of her aura.

"Weiss, do something! Ruby's getting slaughtered out there!", Yang exclaims, but Weiss ignores her and simply focuses on her own fight.

* * *

Across the arena, Weiss is launching ice shards down at Reginald, but he blocks them by creating walls of fire with a combination of his Silver Lining and some Fire Dust. "You still don't even know what I'm talking about, do you? I shouldn't really be surprised. You Schnee's don't think about those who work for you as people, just things for you to use as you see fit.", Reginald says as he weaves his wires around himself, forming a small barrier of fire to stop the oncoming ice attacks.

Weiss looks up at her aura bar, seeing she has more aura than Reginald does, being at a solid 70% compared to his 60%. "I'm not playing your mind games! I'll show you what it means to be a member of the Schnee family!", Weiss exclaims as she forms a yellow glyph under herself. As her glyph spins under her, Weiss gets a great boost to her speed before rushing in to attack him. The white warrior speeds past the wire puller, much to his surprise, and forms multiple white glyphs around him. And as she leaps up onto one of the glyphs, she springs towards him with her Myrtenaster ready to strike.

Reginald anticipates this and manages to block the girl's strike as she speeds by to another glyph, springing off of that one towards Reginald yet again. With each attack she throws at him, Reginald manages to move his wires in such a way so it forms a wall of threads to stop her attack. "What it means to be a member of the Schnee family!? I know exactly what that means! You're all a bunch of holier than thou asshats that think that just because you have this big family name that everyone has to give up everything for you! You don't care what people lose because of your greed! I'll make you pay for everything you've taken!", Reginald exclaims as he blocks her unpredictable attacks.

Weiss goes for one final strike, but right before her blade can reach him, Reginald's wires wrap around her arm and weapon before starting to glow with Earth Dust. With a throw of his arms up to the sky, Reginald flings Weiss up into the air as he shouts, "I'll make you regret what you took from me!" When the boy throws his hands down towards the ground, Weiss goes slamming down into the ground again, losing 20% of her aura and dropping down to 45%!

Though she's badly beaten, Weiss still manages to stand up and continue the fight, fixing her messed up hair so it isn't blocking her eyes before taking her stance and pointing her rapier at her enemy.

"You don't even remember him, do you? I shouldn't be surprised. Why remember someone who served and protected your lives?", Reginald says as his burning glare focuses on the Schnee. Reginald points at the heiress and shouts, "My father was Walter Wolfe, the same man who helped protect your family with his life! And what did you do!? You threw him away like trash! Do you remember his name now, Snowflake!?"

A moment of silence overtakes the room as Weiss and Reginald glare at one another, the boy waiting for the Ice Queen's answer. Weiss fixes her hair oncemore and returns Reginald's burning glare with a cold scowl before replying with, "I don't remember any man by that name.", earning only a growl from the boy.

Reginald, finally reaching a point of no return, shouts, "Then I'll make you remember!", and his wires run rampant all over the arena.

Across the arena, Ruby is sent flying by Persi's Riptide, knocking her aura down to 15% and sending her hurdling out of the arena! Persi, knowing something is going on, looks to see what's happening with his partner, only to be sent flying by one of Reginald's whirling wires. This causes the bear to go tumbling out of the arena, eliminating him as he lands next to the beaten little red girl.

"Reginald, what are you doing!? You just eliminated Persi!", Sapphire shouts as she stands from her seat.

Ash just looks up at her and says, "You know he can't hear you.", causing her to look at him with confusion. "Reginald isn't hearing anything anymore. He's completely blinded by rage.", Ash explains as Reginald continues to wildly attack Weiss, who throws up glyph after glyph to protect herself. Sapphire returns her concerned gaze over to Reginald as Ash says, "Whatever the Schnee family did to Reginald's father, it seems he perished and Reginald blames the entire family for it all."

Reginald rushes down Weiss one more time with his wires whirling around him before slashing down at her with his wires joined together like a large blade.

Weiss isn't quick enough to block his attack and ends up taking a few hits, dropping her down to 25% of her aura.

With rage filling his eyes, Reginald ignites his wires with Fire Dust, causing flames to spread throughout the arena as the wires whirl around unpredictably.

As Weiss sees this, she switches to her Wind Dust and her blade is coated in small twirling gusts of green wind.

Finally, as the two charge at one another, they both let out courageous battle cries before their attacks collide, causing a giant explosion that engulfs the entire arena in smoke and dust! The smoke fills the entire arena, but doesn't spread to the stands as it's being contained by the barrier around the arena, leaving the result of the match unknown. When the smoke finally clears, everyone sees that Reginald and Weiss are both badly beaten, but still standing with only 16% of their auras.

Weiss drops her Myrtenaster as she falls to a knee, unable to move from all the strain put on her body.

Reginald lets out a gleeful laugh as he sees he's the only one still standing before saying, "I guess you lose, Snowflake. How does it feel to finally be put in your place?"

A loud buzzer rings through the arena as Glynda raises her arm into the air and says, "This match ends in a draw.", earning a confused glance from everyone.

"But, they both still have more than-", Blake begins to before Sapphire says, "They both stepped out of the arena."

Reginald's eyes widen as he looks down at his foot to see it's barely outside of the arena and Weiss is only barely still in the arena. "B-but-", Reginald begins to say before Glynda silences him with a glare.

"You've lost, Reginald. Accept it and move on.", Glynda coldly suggest as she closes her scroll. Glynda then looks to Ruby and Persi, who are sitting down on the ground next to each other with their weapons placed on the ground to their sides. "You four go to the locker room and get cleaned up. That will be all for today. I would like you all to look back at this battle and think of all the mistakes that each team made throughout it. Now, if nobody wants to object, we'll go back to our original class assignment.", Glynda orders as she turns her attention to the other students and Reginald storms off in frustration.

* * *

In the pitch black of night, Roman is running through a dark alley with an empty case in one hand and his can in the other.

As the crimson devil stumbles around the corner, he turns his head as he hears a man shout, "You won't get away from me, thief!" Before the master thief can continue his escape, a long blade comes flying out of the shadows! It's a chain-like whip lined with razor sharp blades. Torchwich manages to dodge out of the way of the speeding blades before pointing the barrel of his gun down the dark alley before shooting blindly at the huntsman. When the bullets explode, the blade reels back in toward the huntsman as Roman hears the sound of rushing footsteps heading his way, causing his eyes to widen in disbelief.

" _God damn Huntsmen, always sticking their noses in my business! We'd be perfectly fine if those idiots didn't trip the damn alarm!_ ", Roman thinks as he runs for his life down the dark alley. The thief reaches a fork in the alley and looks left then right before rushing down the right path. Unfortunately for the crimson devil, he chose the wrong way to go as he run straight into a brick wall.

Before he can throw out any witty one-liners, Roman hears someone say from the shadows, "There you are, scum!" The huntsman quickly rushes out of the shadows with his sword in hand, aiming to cut the thief down. With a single slash of his sword, he cuts Roman clean in half! The satisfaction on the Huntsman's face quickly shifts to confusion as the crimson devil's body shatters into glass as it hits the ground.

Looking around for the criminal, the huntsman shouts, "What the hell!? Where'd he-", but before he can finish, he's stabbed straight through the back by a steel blade, it's blood soaked tip peeking out through his chest. As he coughs up blood, the man looks back to see a small girl standing there with umbrella running him through. And when she pulls it out, he falls to his knees, trying desperately to hold the blood back, but he fails as he falls face first into a pool of his own blood. He desperately looks up at his killer to see Roman walking out of the shadows with a grin on his face as the small girl twirls her blade back into the top of her umbrella.

"Looks like you failed buddy, but don't worry, you tried your best. But, I guess from where you're laying, it looks like you were dealt a bit of bad luck, but if I'm being honest...", Roman begins to say as he points his cane at the Huntsman. And as the sight flips up, Roman finishes, saying, "...the game was rigged from the start.", before blasting the man's head clean off with a single shot.

As the man's blood begins to pool dramatically, Neo looks over to Roman with a smile, but he only seems to glare at her. "Neo, I told you to stay back. I could've dealt with him on my own.", Roman growls, scolding the girl, who seems to pout at him.

She suddenly starts coughing uncontrollably into her hand, dropping her umbrella in the process, and causing Roman to rush over to her.

The man quickly picks up Neo's umbrella before telling her, "Honestly, I'm grateful for the save, but you need to stay in bed. If you keep pushing yourself, you'll only get worse.", and throwing the girl over his shoulder before carrying her down the alley from which they came. With a slight smile on his face, he gently pats her on her back and says, "Now, let's go home."

* * *

Later that night, in Beacon's Amphitheater, Yang is sparring with Ash yet again.

The blonde throws a quick jab at him, but the swordsman ducks under her arm and slices her across the chest before retreating.

"You're at a disadvantage, Yang. You should be fighting with that in mind and focus more on defense than landing a strike.", Ash suggests as he starts rushing the blonde down. The boy unleashes slashes at her with six quick swings of his blade, but Yang manages to block them this time with her Ember Celica. "Good, now try to focus more on your opponent's weaknesses when you're at a disadvantage. This could shift the tide of battle into your favor, then you can go on the offensive and start using your strong-suits to keep it in your favor.", Ash continues to explain as he goes for another slash, but she catches the blade with one hand.

With his Dragoon in hand, Yang pulls Ash in and manages to land a punch straight to his chest!

This causes the boy to lose his weapon, letting go of it as he's sent flying back from her attack. Ash manages to flip midair and land on his feet while keeping his focus on the blonde and saying, "Very good, Yang, now don't let your guard down just because you have the advantage in this battle. Even though your opponent might be disarmed, the battle isn't over until the very end."

Yang rushes the boy down with her fists ready, throwing a plethora of punches at him, but to her surprise he manages to parry her attacks with his bare hands.

The mummy quickly knocks Yang off her feet with a quick sweep of her leg before using his semblance to launch a few swords down at her. The blonde quickly recovers by flipping herself backwards and dodging the blades flying down at her.

After evading his attack, Yang rushes towards Ash oncemore, making sure to stand in between him and his Dragoon to prevent him from recovering the blade easily.

This proves to be less than useful as Ash continues to dodge or parry the blonde's punches and as she goes for a powerful haymaker punch, the boy dodges under her attack, tucking and rolling across the floor to his sword. As he recovers his Dragoon, Ash quickly sheathes the blade before turning around and launching a few more aura blades towards his sparring partner. The blades hit their mark as Yang isn't able to react in time to dodge before Ash rushes in for a plethora of slashes, dropping her aura down to 20% and causing her aura to flare up, looking cracked in some places.

Suddenly, Yang's hair is engulfed in flames and her lavender eyes quickly turn to a sharp red. The raging brawler uses her gauntlets to launch herself into the fight yet again with remarkable speed, almost catching Ash off guard, but he manages to keep his composure and meet each of her punches with his blade with each attack.

As their attacks clash with one another, Yang starts to push Ash back to the edge of the arena with her raw power. Ash counters this with a plethora of blades dropping down from above, forcing her to try to dodge them, giving Ash the perfect opportunity to get one last slash in and knocking her down to 15%.

With her aura left at 15%, Yang stops her attack with a frustrated look on her face as Ash sheathes his blade. "Well done, Yang. You've certainly improved since our last spar.", Ash says, complementing the girl as her flaming hair dies down and her eyes revert back to her usual lavender color.

The blonde rubs the back of her head as she lets out a reluctant sigh and admits, "Yeah, but last time you just obliterated me. I didn't even lay a finger on you."

"Like I said, you have a great deal of room for improvement. If you continue with your training, I have no doubt you'll become a great fighter. If we keep training together, we should learn a lot from one another.", Ash says to her with a kind look in his eyes.

A cheeky grin suddenly comes across Yang's face before she walks up to Ash and cupping his chin in one hand. As she moves the boy's face so he's looking her straight in her eyes, Yang seductively asks, "So, what do you want me to teach you? I know all kinds of things, you know?"

Ash seems to ponder the idea before saying, "There was one thing I wanted to know about. Sapphire said you were quite the expert at it as well."

"Oh, did she now? What might that be?", the blonde asks with a smirk on her face.

Ash nods and explains further, saying, "Well, Sapphire told me you go to these 'clubs' all the time and I wanted to know if it was possible for you to show me what one was like."

"Oh, the clubs! That's what she was talking about, right... Yeah, no problem. I can totally take you to one, I go dancing at this totally cool club all the time that servers the best drinks, but you better have some pretty sick dance moves, killer.", Yang replies somewhat nervously, expecting him to have said something else.

The boy looks to her with a confused look before asking, "What's dancing?", to which Yang facepalms and mutters under her breath, "Oh boy, this is gonna be a long night."


	15. Jaunedice

It's another day at Beacon Academy and SAPR and JNPR are having lunch together with Blake and Yang. As the two and a half teams eat their lunches in silence, Persi and Reginald seem to glare up at one another before Persi lets out a slight growl and goes back to his food.

Reginald just rolls his eyes before going back to his lunch as he cuts into his salsberry steak, the blade causing a loud scrapping sound as it scrapes against the glass plate.

Sensing the tension in the air, Nora tries to break the ice by asking, "So...how is everyone doing today?"

Reginald and Persi only glare up at her before turning their attentions back to their food, earning a sigh from their leader. "Just ignore them, Nora. They've been like this since that fight a couple days ago.", Sapphire says to her with a concerned look.

Persi takes a moment to look up from his food and ask, "You mean that complete embarrassment of a fight where he walked out of the arena?"

"At least I didn't get shot in the face.", Reginald shoots back without even taking the time to look up at Persi.

"Well at least I didn't ELIMINATE MY OWN PARTNER!", Persi shouts as he leans over Reginald, towering over his partner, but before he can continue laying into Reginald, Sapphire stops both of them by saying, "That's enough. This pointless arguing is getting us nowhere."

They both look over to Sapphire with burning glares before both growl, "Stay out of this!"

"Well, at least all Weiss and Ruby are doing is giving each other the silent treatment. Ruby's drowning herself in Ultra Alfredo Sisters 3 and Weiss is burying herself in next week's studies. I'm glad they aren't arguing with each other like this everyday.", Yang groans with a sigh to which Sapphire nods.

As the two boys glare at each other, Nora tries yet again to break the tension at the table by saying, "Well, I had this cool dream last night." The girl quickly starts describing the scene dramatically as if she suddenly turned into a narrator, saying, "There I was, in the middle of the night."

"It was day.", Ren immediately says after her, causing the orange haired girl to glance over at him before continuing.

"I was surrounded by Ursai...", Nora continues, and Ren corrects her again, saying, "They were Beowolves."

"There were dozens of them!", the energetic ginger exclaims, slamming her hands down on the table as she stands up from her seat, trying to ignore Ren's meddling, but he continues correcting her, saying, "There were two of them."

As she plops back down into her seat, confidence just covers her face as she crosses her arms and pridefully says, "And Ren and I made a fortune selling Ursa Skin Rugs! Pretty neat, right guys?"

Ren lets out a exhausted sigh before taking a sip of his tea and saying, "She's been having this reoccurring dream for nearly a month now."

"Isn't it a bit weird that you know that...?", Blake awkwardly asks as she looks up to Ren from her book.

Nora quickly wraps an arm around Ren's neck, pulling the stoic boy close to her side before happily saying, "Not really, Ren and I have known each other for a really REALLY long time. We know everything about each other. Right Ren?"

With his head wrapped in Nora's headlock, Ren silently nods in agreement before returning to the peace of his tea.

Yang looks over to Blake with a slight smile, to which Blake rolls her eyes and returns to her book. As she does this, Yang's mood saddens as she turns to Nora and Ren and says, "I wish our team could be that close."

"Well, bonds like this don't happen over night. If you keep at it, you two might just end up with a partnership like ours, right Ren?", Nora replies before looking to Ren for his response, which he replies to with yet another nod.

"You can't rush these kinds of relationships. We have four years to get to know one another. There's no need to rush things.", Jaune notes, adding his eternal wisdom to the conversation.

Yang snickers at the blonde boy's comment before saying, "You're one to talk about rushing, Jaune. Considering how quickly you laid down and cried after Pyrrha beat your ass the other day."

"I-It wasn't that quick, really! I just have more experience than most other students here. I'm certain if I was any other student, Jaune could've easily held his own, right Jaune?", Pyrrha quickly replies, shooting down Yang's playful jab to defend her partner's pride.

Much to their surprise, Jaune quickly rebuttals both of them, saying, "It wasn't that! I could've easily taken you on, Pyrrha. I was just off my game a little. The arena was smaller than the one I practiced in back at home, so I was focusing too much on staying in the arena instead of the actual fight, but I think I've gotten the feel for it now. I could easily take any of you on any day of the week now."

"Oh, is that so, Mister Bigshot? How about we test that then?", Yang playfully asks the blonde boy with a sly grin on her face. The busty blonde stands up from her seat and as she points to Jaune, she says, "If that's the case, then I dare you to challenge Cardin Winchester to a match tomorrow in Sparring Class. If you're such a great fighter, then you can handle that much, right?"

"You're on Xiao Long! An Arc never backs down from a challenge!", Jaune boasts as he also stands up, empty tray in hand as a confident grin comes across his face.

Pyrrha looks up at her partner with worry in her eyes before asking, "Are you certain that's a good idea, Jaune? We saw Cardin almost destroy the cafeteria on the first day of school."

"Exactly, I know all of his movements already. That gives me a clear advantage over him not to mention knowing his semblance. This'll be a piece of cake, trust me.", Jaune replies confidently, causing Pyrrha's worry to fade away into a slight smile.

And as Jaune leaves the lunch table, Ash sighs and says, "This will not end well..."

* * *

The next day, during Sparring Class, Jaune is frantically dodging fireballs in the arena, rolling across the ground and leaping over them to avoid the explosions they cause. Across the arena, Cardin is standing there with his mace turned into what seems like a flamethrower, which he's using to shoot flames of all shapes and sizes at Jaune.

"Come on, Jaune. Put up more of a fight than that! You're starting to bore me!", Cardin gloats as he presses a button on his hilt, causing the head of his mace to rotate. As he pulls the trigger on his weapon, flames spew out of his mace toward Jaune, but he manages to get his shield up in time to block the attack. The power behind the flames is too strong for the blonde boy to do anything else but block however, and Cardin just walks towards him as his fire starts to overwhelm Jaune's defenses.

As Cardin stops right in front of him, he quickly switches his weapon back into a mace and Jaune tries to take this moment to counter attack with a downward slash, but Cardin manages to block his attack with the shaft of his weapon. "You're absolutely pathetic. You really thought you could beat me?", Cardin asks as he starts pushing Jaune back with his raw power.

Jaune desperately tries to bash Cardin away with his shield, but Cardin knocks it away with ease, leaving Jaune with only his trusty sword. Cardin completely ignores Jaune's blade and instead of clashing blades with him once more, he simply knocks Jaune to his knees with a swift knee to the stomach.

As Jaune looks up at Cardin, he sees the boy as he lifts his mace up into the air, aiming to crush his skull as a sadistic grin comes across his face.

Before he can lay into Jaune with his massive weapon, a loud buzzer goes off behind him, causing Cardin to stop in his tracks entirely as they hear Glynda say, "That's enough."

Cardin glances over his shoulder to see Glynda as she walks into the arena, her eyes focused on the two boys entirely. "This match has been decided. Cardin Winchester is the victor.", Glynda proclaims as she walks over to her students. When she gets closer, she looks down at Jaune with a slight glare before saying, "Mister Arc, you've been in my class for quite some time now, so you should have learned to get a good feeling for your aura levels naturally and use that information in your battle strategies. Please try to be a tad more cautious in your next battle. We wouldn't want you to get gobbled up by a Beowolf now, would we?", and Pyrrha looks to him with a worried frown.

Cardin scoffs to himself before muttering, "Speak for yourself.", and walking out of the arena to the locker room with the head of his heavy mace resting on his armored shoulder.

"Well, that will be the last spar of the day it seems. Now, before I dismiss you, I would like you all to remember that Professor Peach and I will be taking you all to Forever Fall next week for your first investigation mission as Huntsmen in training. And I would suggest that you take your weekly funds and spend them wisely on your supplies, you will need them. You are dismissed.", Glynda states with a slight glare aimed at the rest of her students before dismissing her class.

As Jaune pulls himself off the floor, he looks over to the locker room and thinks, " _Good one, Jaune. Add that to your long list of failures._ ", before heading to the locker room to change.

When he gets there though, he's met with a smirking Cardin, who's already finished getting changed into his school uniform. "That was a fun fight, Jauny-boy.", Cardin says with a slight hint of sarcasm.

Jaune just looks to him and says, "Cardin, I'm not in the mood right now.", but Cardin ignores him and says, "I haven't had a match that easy since middle school! You're a real push over, you know that?" Cardin shoves Jaune out of the way as he walks over to the exit, causing Jaune to run into a nearby locker shoulder first.

And as he leaves, he says back to Jaune, "You'd do well to remember your place Jaune. Glynda won't be around to save you forever."

As Jaune tries to catch his breath, he hears a kind voice ask, "Do you...need a hand?", and he looks up to see Pyrrha walking into the locker room.

"I'm fine Pyrrha, I just need a few minutes to breathe right now, but thanks for asking. I'll be fine, honest.", Jaune replies with a forced smile to the girl, but she isn't buying it.

Pyrrha walks over to him and throws his arm over her shoulder before saying, "Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school, but you haven't tried fighting back at all. I'm getting worried, Jaune."

Jaune lets out a quick sigh before telling his partner, in a more stubborn tone than usual, "I'll be fine. You probably have more important things to worry about than this. Besides, what kind of leader would I be if I kept getting help from everyone all the time?", causing a light to turn on in Pyrrha's head.

"I have an idea. Once you're done changing, come with me. I need your help with something.", Pyrrha suddenly suggest, causing Jaune to give her a confused look.

Knowing he can't win, Jaune simply nods before heading deeper into the locker room to get changed.

* * *

As Pyrrha finishes pulling Jaune through the hallways and up two flights of stairs, they finally end up on the roof, looking off at the sunset. The redhead gently guides him over to the ledge, but Jaune starts to pull back as he hesitantly says, "P-Pyrrha, I know I look a bit down and Cardin's picking on me, but I don't think this is my only other option! I could always be a farmer or open a store or something..."

The girl looks down to see the high drop before realizing what he meant and quickly saying, "No! That's...that's not what I meant..." Pyrrha places her hands on Jaune's shoulders and takes a deep breathe before saying, "Jaune, I want you to train with me up here."

"What?", Jaune replies in his usual confused tone and Pyrrha just gives him her classic gentle smile.

"We can come up here every night and train together. It's rare to come across someone who uses a similar style along with a shield, so I feel like it would benefit both of us if we worked together to get better.", Pyrrha suggests as she rubs her arm nervously.

Jaune rubs the back of his head as he asks, "Do I really look that bad? Would you really take the time out of your day to have to help me?"

Pyrrha lets out a sigh and says, "Jaune, we all need a little bit of help every now and then. Even I need to keep training so I don't lose my edge. And if you train hard enough, I'm certain you can become a great Huntsman. I can help you."

"What's the point? I don't belong here. I should just go back home.", Jaune replies as his depression starts to take over.

"You DO belong here Jaune. So what if you haven't unlocked your semblance yet? You made it past the entrance exams and made it here with your raw skill alone. That speaks wonders for your ability.", Pyrrha quickly refutes, but this only infuriates Jaune.

Jaune sadly mutters to himself, "You're wrong...", but Pyrrha manages to hear this and says, "You BELONG here Jaune."

"No I don't! I didn't even earn my place here!", Jaune exclaims in his frustration as he turns away from her, earning a slightly confused look from the redhead.

Pyrrha takes a step towards her partner and asks, "Jaune, what do you mean?"

Jaune quickly turns around to the redhead and shouts, "I didn't earn my spot here in Beacon, okay!? I found some fake transcripts and forged them to look like I attended a nice huntsman school and had enough skill to attend these classes! I cheated and lied to get here... I-I just wanted to be like my father, and his father before him... I just wanted to be a hero...", as he holds himself and looks off to the sunset.

Pyrrha takes another step towards him with an open hand and says, "Jaune, it's alright. We can-", but before she can finish, he shouts, "Just leave me alone!", causing the girl to pull her open hand back.

Nearly driven to tears, Pyrrha manages to say, "If..If that's what you want...", before running through the nearby exit and down the stair.

As Jaune stands there alone on the roof, he thinks to himself, " _Great work, 'Team Leader'. You yelled at your partner and made her cry. Some leader you are..._ " "Maybe I should go apologize...", he mutters to himself before turning back to the doorway to follow after her, but before he can, he hears his own voice say, "I found some fake transcripts and forged them to look like I attended a nice huntsman school and had enough skill to attend these classes! I cheated and lied to get here."

The boy quickly turns back to see Cardin Winchester standing there on the roof with a tape recorder in hand, and as the bully presses the pause button on it, the recording stops and he says, "Well well well, who would've thought you were the type of guy to do such a thing, Jauny-boy?"

"Cardin!? Please, please don't tell anyone about this!", Jaune begs, but Cardin only chuckles before putting the device in his inner jacket pocket as he walks over to Jaune.

"Oh Jaune, why would I ever do that? That's not what friends do.", Cardin says with a smirk on his face. He then puts Jaune in a headlock before saying, "I think this is gonna be the start of a beautiful friendship, Jaune."


	16. A Caged Bird

It's early in the afternoon in Professor Oobleck's class as the professor goes through his daily lecture, zipping and zooming across the room at an unbelievable speed as he takes an occasional pause to take a sip of his coffee.

While team SAPR is sitting together, paying attention for the most part, team RWBY is a bit split, sitting far apart from one another. Ruby and Yang are sleeping through the lecture while Weiss and Blake both watch attentively.

Most of team JNPR is wide awake for the lecture with the only exception being Jaune, who's sleeping with his head partially down, only managing to stay up thanks to his stiff arm propping it up.

Next to the sleeping huntsman, Velvet is sitting slightly on edge, since right behind her is her most recent tormentor; Cardin Winchester, with his legs propped up on the long desk before him and his arms behind his head comfortably.

After taking a sip from his Beacon mug, Oobleck continues on with his lecture, saying, "Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the 'Faunus War,' Human kind was quite quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie.", as he points to the smallest continent on the southern part of his giant map at the front of the class. The Doctor takes another quick sip from his mug before speeding in front of his desk and saying, "Now, while this might all seem like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember these are still relatively recent events." "Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day.", he says before zipping in front of Velvet in a flash. As he stands in front of the somewhat shaking girl, he looks to his students and asks, "Now, have any of you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

Velvet sheepishly raises her hand and Persi does the same, quickly followed by all of the other Faunus students in the room.

The emerald blur looks to them all with a slight frown before shaking his head no and saying, "Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence.", before taking yet another sip from his mug. "I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang! Now, pop quiz time!", Oobleck blurts out as he zips to the center of his little lecturing area.

This is met with a combined groan from the class, earning a slight chuckle from the Professor.

"Come on now, I know one of you must have the answer to this one. What do most theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?", Oobleck continues and to his delight, Weiss' hand shoots up almost instantly. Noticing the heiress' enthusiasm, the Professor points to her and says, "Yes, Miss Schnee! Lay it on me!", causing the girl to give him a smug grin as she lowers her hand.

"The battle at Fort Castle.", Weiss replies confidently, causing the professor to zip behind his desk and exclaim, "Exactly! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?"

As he asks this, Cardin flicks a paper football right at the back of Jaune's head, causing the blonde to jet awake in a panic. Jaune looks around nervously, and as Oobleck suddenly appears before him and happily exclaims, "Ah, Mister Arc! Finally contributing to class! Excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?", he realizes his hand shot up when Cardin woke him up.

Jaune is clearly tired, barely able to keep his eyes open or form basic words as he says, "The...answer...the advantage...the Faunus had...over..the other...guys...with the eyes...not glasses... ummmmmmm..." Almost as if a lightbulb suddenly turned on, Jaune courageously spouts the answer, "Binoculars!", causing most of the class to burst out into laughter, with the exception of his team-mates, team RWBY, and team SAPR.

Oobleck, however isn't amused by this answer and simply takes a deep gulp from his mug before letting out a heavy sigh as Cardin bangs on his desk as he continues to laugh at Jaune's expense. "Very funny, Mister Arc. Cardin! It seems you have more energy than usual today. Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?", Oobleck says after zooming behind his desk.

Cardin leans back in his chair as he props his feet back up on the desk and boldly says, "Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier.", earning the boy a disappointed scowl from the professor.

"You're not the most open minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?", Pyrrha asks the boy before Persi adds, "He will be after I put a few slugs through that thick skull of his."

Cardin glares over at the duo and asks, "What? We have a problem?", to which Pyrrha replies, "No, I have the answer. It's night vision." "Many Faunus are known to have perfect night vision in the dark.", Pyrrha explains, causing Cardin to growl.

Reginald snickers at the bully's expense before adding, "General Lagoon was nothing but a complete joke and made the horrible mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His army ended up getting out-played and in the end he got himself captured." "If only he paid more attention in class, then maybe he wouldn't have been a complete and utter disappointment in history. Wait, _complete and utter disappointment_? Hey, that sounds just like you Cardin! Are you two related or something?", Reginald adds, firing a shot at the bully and causing Cardin to stand up from his seat with his fist clenched into a ball, ready to fight, but Oobleck isn't allowing any of that.

Oobleck restores order as he says, "Mister Winchester, please take your seat. We have only a few more minutes of class, and I'd like to finish my lecture without incident."

As Jaune snickers to himself at Cardin's expense, Oobleck speeds over in front of the blonde, causing him to jump in shock before telling the class, "You and Mister Arc can both see me after class for additional readings.", causing Jaune to slouch in his seat with a groan.

* * *

When class finally finishes and the other students escape the professor's lair, Oobleck stands before Jaune and Cardin as they sit in seats in the front row so he can be sure to maintain their attention. "Now, you two have been struggling in my class since day one. I don't know if it's a lack of interest or your stubborn natures getting the better of you, but whatever it is-", the Doctor begins to say before pausing to take another sip from his mug and putting it down on his desk dramatically. As the mug makes a glass-like clank against his wooden desk, he finishes his statement, saying, "-it stops now."

The emerald haired man walks away from his mug and towards the two boys as he says, "You two have both worked very hard to gain entrance to this school and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you two to act like it.", and as he says this, Jaune avoids eye contact with the professor. As he turns away from the boys, Oobleck walks back over to his desk while saying, "History is important, gentlemen. If you can't learn from it-", and pauses dramatically as he stands in front of his desk. Taking his glasses off, the calm, calculated teacher looks back to the boys with his light green eyes and says, "-you're doomed to repeat it."

The teacher follows this up by snatching his mug from his desk and quickly ordering, "Pages fifty one to ninety one, I want an essay on my desk by next class! Now, run along.", before speeding out the door with his mug.

With the green blur gone, Jaune tries to leave the room, but before he can make his escape, Cardin grabs him by the back of his shirt and growls, "Where do ya think you're going, Jauny-boy?"

Jaune looks back at Cardin, terrified to see an evil smirk on the boy's face. "I don't exactly have time to be writing that essay. You know how busy I am with my workout routine and dealing with those idiots. So how about you do your bestie Cardin a favor and handle that one for me too, okay?", Cardin says to the boy, causing Jaune to gulp in fear.

Cardin locks Jaune in a headlock before giving him a quick noogie as he says, "I knew my little buddy would understand. You're a real life saver, Jaune. I'm expecting that and those questions Port assigned us today by the end of the night, alright? Gonna have to go over them a bit to make sure they look like they're mine. And to make sure you're not trying to pull some shit on me, but you wouldn't do that, would you Jaune? Because we're 'friends' now!" As he says this, Cardin lets go of Jaune, leaving for his next class as he gives Jaune a quick wack to the head for good measure.

"I'll see ya in our next class, Jauny-boy. And don't be late, or somebody might think something happened to you.", Cardin says as he waves back at Jaune like they're childhood friends. Jaune only growls at this, but gives in to his demands, unsure what to do other than submit to the bully's iron rule.

* * *

Later that day, teams JNPR, SAPR, and RWBY are all eating lunch together, but Ruby, Weiss and Jaune are all absent from the table. As Yang takes a bite of her salad, the blonde looks over to Nora and asks, "So, where's Jaune?"

"He said he was going to start on his homework early tonight and that he'd eat later.", Nora replies without a moment of hesitation, earning a confused look from the blonde.

Yang shifts her gaze to Pyrrha and asks, "And you're not the least bit concerned about Jaune? His grades pretty much took a nose dive recently."

"I'm certain our leader knows exactly what he's doing.", Pyrrha growls back with a slight glare, causing Yang to reel back a bit in surprise.

"Damn, no need to get all pissy about it. Just askin a question. It hasn't even been a single semester and this whole table is full of drama out the ass.", Yang groans to the crimson gladiator, earning only an annoyed roll of the eyes before Pyrrha returns to her own salad.

Sapphire looks to Yang and suggests, "Maybe we should all talk to Jaune about this? We could see if he wants to study together or something, right?"

This only earns a disapproving glare from Pyrrha as she says, "Trust me, he doesn't want our help. Besides, trying to get involved will only complicate things for him. If he wants to do this on his own, you can't change his mind. None of us can."

"People can change, Pyrrha. Maybe if we show Jaune how much his grades have dropped and what will happen if he doesn't get his work in order, he might just realize we can help him. Right Blake?", Yang says before turning to her partner for support only to find Blake wasn't even paying attention, instead the dusk colored girl is focused on something across the room. Yang follows Blake's gaze to see Cardin humiliating Velvet in front of his team as he continues to pull on the bunny girl's ears for a cheap laugh.

Persi and Blake are both glaring daggers at Cardin, but know they really can't get involved without risking expulsion.

"Can he be any more terrible? Velvet doesn't even do anything? He's such an asshole.", Yang says with a growl as she stabs into a tomato with her fork.

Pyrrha nods in agreement with the blonde and says, "People like him are nothing more than trash. But there's nothing any of us can really do."

Nora's eyes widen and a cheeky smile comes across her crazy face as she stands up from her seat and says, "I know! We'll break his legs!"

"That would only get us kicked out of Beacon.", Pyrrha quickly replies and Yang adds, with part of the tomato in her mouth, "Or arrested.", which causes Nora to sit down in defeat.

Blake, however, quickly bites back, asking, "Why exactly is stopping harassment a bad thing anyways?", in a somewhat threatening tone.

They're all surprised when they hear a familiar voice say to them, "Honestly, I'm surprised she's even allowed here." When they all turn to see who said that, they see it was Weiss, who just walked in with her lunch.

"What did you just say?", Sapphire asks the heiress with a slight glare.

Weiss sets her tray down next to Pyrrha and answers the azure warrior's question, saying, "What? I'm just saying that having Faunus in a school for professional Huntsmen and Huntresses is a bit odd. Usually you'd only give such a role to those who can be trusted with the position's power, but I guess Vale is just that much more different than Atlas."

"So you're saying that Faunus shouldn't be allowed to become Huntsmen? That's...", Nora begins to say before two people try to finish her sentence for her all at once. Reginald says, "Stupid.", as Weiss says, "Logical."

And as they say this, Reginald and Weiss both notice what the other said and glare at one another.

"How exactly is not wanting the White Fang to have trained and armed soldiers a 'stupid' thing?", Weiss hastily asks the silver boy with a scowl, earning a glare from Blake and Persi.

Persi quickly fires back with a question of his own, growling, "And how exactly is alienating all Faunus and disarming them going to keep the White Fang from stealing weapons and training their own soldiers?"

"Most Faunus turn and join the White Fang after graduation. But, who would expect you to know that, you're a Faunus after all.", Weiss confidently replies as she glares over at the mountain sized bear, which earns her a growl from the boy.

"Weiss, you do realize that's discrimination, right? You can't just-", Yang begins to say before Weiss cuts her off by saying, "Oh Yang, you lovable goof. I doubt you'd be able to grasp this concept in its entirety. Just let the higher ups do the talking, okay?"

This only earns her a slightly irritated glare from the blonde however, but she manages to cool herself off before letting loose on the heiress, taking a deep breath before turning her attention back to her food.

Blake however isn't letting Weiss go so easily. "Don't talk down to her like that! She's your team-mate!", the ribboned girl growls, scolding the girl, but Weiss doesn't seem phased by her yelling.

Weiss simply replies with, "I'm just saving her from herself. If she were to say something that was clearly wrong because she wasn't fully aware of the situation, she'd just embarrass herself." "And on a more important note, why do you care so much, Blake? What are you, some Faunus lover or something? Do you really believe the delusional that we can make peace with those murderers and psychos in the White Fang?", Weiss bites back, cause Blake to reel back a bit before preparing to tear into Weiss.

Before Blake has the chance to completely lay into the ignorant heiress however, they all hear another voice say, "Hey, is..is something going on?" They all turn to see Ruby standing there with a brown paper bag in her hand with her name written in black marker.

When the crimson speedster's eyes meet her partner's, they share a short glare at each other before Weiss stands up from the table, leaving her food behind as she leaves the cafeteria. As she leaves, the heiress huffs and says, "I don't have to deal with this ignorance. I'll go where my intelligence is more respected."

When the ice queen's cold aura finally fades from the table, Ruby takes her place at the lunch table, sitting next to Pyrrha as she opens her paper bag.

Yang quickly moves Weiss' tray out of her sister's way, moving her now empty tray under Weiss' before asking, "So, what's up Ruby? Finally finish that level you couldn't beat earlier?"

Ruby only nods her head yes before opening a small plastic bowl and poking at the cold spaghetti inside.

"Ruby...are you okay? This is a new level of antisocial, even for you.", Sapphire notes with a concerned look on her face, earning a saddened sigh from the little girl in red.

The hooded girl puts down her fork and replies with a sad, "No.", before cupping her chin in one hand and propping her elbow against the table to hold her head up. "I heard Weiss calling Professor Peach for help with transferring teams. Apparently if two teachers sign off on the decision you can be put on another team after a week.", Ruby explains, earning mixed looks of both confusion and glee from the table.

Yang smiles at her sister's response and says, "That's good, right? Once she's gone, she'll be out of our hair and we'll have somebody with hopefully less of a superiority complex."

"Yeah...but when Weiss and I worked together, when we were really in sync, we were really good together, you know? There's more to Weiss than this, I know it. I just have to get through to her somehow.", Ruby laments as she looks to her food in slight disappointment. Before anyone can say anything else to her, Ruby stands up from the table and says, "I'm not really that hungry anymore." The crimson child goes to leave, but before she does, Ruby looks back to Blake and asks her, "Oh right, Blake, we're still going into Vale for those supplies tomorrow, right?"

Blake simply nods to Ruby, earning a slight smile from her leader before she finally leaves while saying, "If you need me, I'll be on the final level of Mega Slide Girl."

As Ruby leaves her team behind, Yang looks to everyone and asks, "So, who all wants to go hangout with me and Ash tonight? We're going clubbing!"

"Clubbing? I never thought of you as the clubbing type, Ash.", Ren notes as he looks up from his tea to the wrapped ninja sitting a few seats away from him, steam still rising from his warm cup.

Ash nods to the stoic boy and says, "That is correct. Before coming here, I wasn't aware of what dancing was. Yang taught me a few moves, but says that seeing them for myself will be better than her explanations."

"Come on, who wants to join? There'll be booze~", Yang adds, but this doesn't really gain anyone's attention except for Reginald.

The silver tongued devil puts his finger to his chin and mutters to himself, "A busty blonde asking me to go out and have drinks with her at a night club? How could I ever turn such a perfect idea down?"

Pulling the silver boy back to reality, Sapphire quickly wacks him in the back of the head before telling Reginald, "By remembering that you have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning, that's how."

"Gods damn it! What the hell do you mean by that!", Reginald shouts as he rubs the back of his head, trying to relax the throbbing lump forming on the back of his skull.

The azure warrior glares at the boy before getting right in his face as she points at him and says, "You and I are supposed to go into town and get our supplies for Professor Peach's trip, remember? Or did you get distracted again?"

"What about Ash? Why does he get to go!?", Reginald complains, to which Persi replies with, "Because he got her permission first and she asked me to study all day for Grimm Studies. If you paid more attention when we had our group talks rather than trying to watch girls out the window, maybe you would've known that."

"Hey! That girl had a rockin ass, and you know it!", Reginald shouts, causing Yang to start laughing uncontrollably.

"Ah, sucks to be you then, Regi. Any other takers? Nora? I bet you'd love Peppermint Schnapps.", Yang says as she turns her attention to Nora, causing her ears to perk up.

Nora puts a finger to her chin and thinks out loud, saying, "Well, I'm not much of a dancer, or a drinker for that matter, but with a name like Schnapps, how could it be bad, right?" She quickly stands up and begins to accept, saying, "I'm i-", but before she can, Ren pulls her back into her seat and says, "out."

The redhead looks over to her partner, who shakes his head no and says, "You'll thank me later.", which earns him a reluctant, but understanding sigh from the girl.

"Aw, come on! Pyrrha? You're in, right? I bet you could hold your liquor pretty well~", Yang quickly begs the redhead, but instantly gets a conflicted look from the warrior girl.

Pyrrha nervously taps the table with her fingers as she says, "Well, I'd love to, really. But..I have to go into the city tomorrow with Jaune. And you know, I'd just be bringing down the mood. Sorry."

Turned down by everyone else at the table, Yang lets out a defeated sigh before looking to her partner to see Blake still has her eyes glued on Cardin and his goons. The blonde only rolls her eyes before saying, "It's your loss then. Come on, Ash. Let's get going. We have a lot of dancing and drinking ahead of us tonight~" Yang quickly gets up from the table and grabs Ash by the hand before dragging him off with her as she leaves the cafeteria.

Seeing the blonde's now red eyes, Sapphire lets out a worried groan before saying, "That poor boy, he doesn't even know what he's gotten himself into."


	17. The One Night Stand

It's early one day in the city of Vale as Ruby, Blake, Reginald and Sapphire are all shopping together in a local general goods store. As the three girls clutter together, looking at this and that, Reginald is left carrying the bags, waiting for them to be done.

The boy lets out an annoyed groan before asking, "Are you done yet? I'm sick of being designated bag carrier."

"Nope.", Blake coldly replies as she and Sapphire continue looking at cheap Dust crystals.

"These are pretty well cut, where'd you get them from?", Sapphire questions the manager, who's standing behind the desk as they peer through the glass at his gems.

The man gives the children a cheeky grin before crossing his arms and gloating as he says, "Well, I don't like to brag or anything, but I know a pretty cool guy who works at Dust Til Dawn. He sells me the stuff pretty cheap in exchange for special chips. Would ya believe it?"

"Wow, that explains why these things are so cheap!", Blake adds as she's looking at a necklace encrusted with multiple warped Dust crystals, the crystal each giving off a unique glimmer and shine.

As they look at the Dust in amazement, they're interrupted by the sound of Ruby from across the store shouting, "Blake! They've even got books!"

With a twitch of her bow, Blake rushes across the store to the girl to see the man's collection only to be surprised that he has a whole aisle full of books, eight long shelves lined on each side with nothing but books of all sizes. The dusk colored girl quickly picks up a thick book before saying, "A copy of The Great Catsbee.", in amazement before running over to another book. As she sees the cover, she gasps and picks it up before asking in complete aw, "An original copy of To Save A Mockingbird? How did this even end up here!?", and rushing across the aisle oncemore to a group of book. "And all six volumes of King of Thorns? What doesn't this guy have?", Blake ask as she smiles at this new found wonderland.

Ruby's eyes widen when she hears this and she quickly blurts out, "They have Volume Six here!? I've been looking for that one! Gimme!", as she holds her tiny hands out to her friend desperately.

Blake gives her a confused glance before asking, "You read King of Thorns? That's a bit...mature, especially for you, isn't it?"

"You can learn a lot about people if just talk to them, Blake.", Ruby happily replies as Blake hands her the book. Ruby holds the book close to her chest as she lets out a squeal of joy before saying, "Oh, I can't wait to see what happens with Jaune Snow. He's my favorite~ Oooooh, maybe the dragons will finally get here!? I can't wait to read it later."

"Why are you guys looking at books?", Reginald growls as the girls with an annoyed glare as he stands at the end of the aisle.

"Because we can.", Blake shoots back before returning to the comfort of her books.

Reginald just grumbles to himself in response before looking over to Sapphire and asking, "Why did you invite these guys anyways? We could've been in and out, just like that! But no, we had to be all friendly with the bookworm and the toddler. What a pain."

"Calm down, Reginald. We're just helping them buy supplies. It's not their fault they can't afford them.", Sapphire replies, but Reginald raises an eyebrow at her.

"It's not their fault they got bad grades and can't afford their equipment? You want to explain that one, 'Boss?'", Reginald fires back at his leader, causing the one-eyed warrior to let out a tired sigh.

Raising a finger in front of the ill-informed boy, Sapphire gives Reginald a calculated scowl and says, "First, Weiss isn't sharing her school income with her team, so they're already down one member when it comes to Lien." She then puts up another finger before adding, "Second, Yang's been barely scrapping by in her classes since middle school, not to mention her terrible spending habits, so she has no money left to share." "And third, Ruby skipped a couple grades, so she's still catching up on the things she wasn't taught back in Signal before coming here to Beacon. So stop being such a pain in the ass. Besides, you could use some more friends after your falling out with Persi.", the confident leader finishes as she puts a third finger up and glares over at her team-mate.

Reginald only rolls his eyes before walking off as he says, "Whatever, just hurry up so we can go get our actual equipment. I'm not waiting around here all day for you three to finish gossiping about the most recent copy of 'Boys Gone Crazy' or something."

Sapphire just chuckles at this however, before walking over to Ruby and saying, "Now, what's this I'm hearing about Jaune Snow? Is he some boy you know or something?"

"Oh, he's just my favorite character from King of Thorns since all of forever, that all!", Ruby gleefully replies as she suddenly shifts into complete fangirl mode.

Sapphire looks at one of the books, taking in the odd emblem on the front of its hardback cover as she tells the little red girl, "Wow, didn't expect you to be such a reader, Ruby. Especially this kind of adult material. How'd you even get into this kind of stuff?"

"Well, it all kinda started when I was young. I would go on the net and look up older fairy tales, you know, like Aria and Wonderland. But, when I did, I only got the originals instead of the 'child-friendly' ones. I guess that's what got me hooked on them. It kinda opened my eyes to how scary things can really be instead just having a bad day at school or something. But what really got me interested was the fact that as time went on and I read into the newer version, they were all watered down, probably to make them more appropriate for bed time. It's kinda poetic really, having something fun and interesting come from such a dark and twisted. It's kinda like this world, in my opinion. Remnant is full of monster and dark things, but someone needs to make it a better place for everyone else. We're like heroes rewriting this world into a more family friendly world, you know?", Ruby quickly explains all in one breath, earning confused looks from Sapphire and Blake. The red hooded girl nervously laughs as she rubs the back of her head and says, "I guess it makes more sense in my head."

"So, with that being said, do you think Weiss being so hard to work with is going to stop that?", Blake questions her leader, causing Ruby to stop and try to think of an answer.

As the girl puts a finger to her chin, the hooded girl gives her answer, saying, "Well, I didn't exactly think this'd be a walk in the park. So I guess Weiss being such a problem is just proof that this is the kind of world I'll have to work in if I want to make it better. I'll have to deal with people like her who think I'm not that great, or as good as she is, and just suck it up. If it means fixing this world, then I think I can deal with it."

Sapphire gives the young girl a firm pat on the back, which causes Ruby to stumble forward a bit before telling the hooded Huntress, "That's the Ruby Rose I know, determined until the very end! Now let's get out of here before Reginald finally decides to ditch us here."

"Speaking of ditching, where's Yang? Wasn't she supposed to meet up with us earlier?", Blake asks them with a slightly concerned look on her face, to which Ruby nods.

"Yeah, I sent her a message last night, but she never replied. I hope nothing bad happened to her.", Ruby nervously replies as she looks to her scroll to see not a single message from her sister.

Sapphire however has an answer and snaps her fingers before saying, "That's what I was going to tell you guys earlier. I can't believe I forgot that." They both look to her with confused glances before Sapphire quickly explains the situation, saying, "I'll tell you the details in a bit, but Yang's fine. She's sleeping in our room."

* * *

Back in SAPR's dorm, Yang is waking up from a long night's rest, stretching her arms and yawning loudly as she sits up. She rubs her eyes with one hand as she reaches randomly around the bed for her scroll. When she finds it, she picks it up and presses the yellow button in the center, and to her surprise, it beeps three times, denying her access.

As she lazily opens her eyes, she mutters to herself, "What the... Why isn't my scroll working?" Squinting at the holographic screen, Yang takes a good look at the device and sees it's in perfect condition, causing her eyes to widen as she says, "Wait, this isn't my scroll!", and quickly tosses it down on the bed in a panic.

"Blake, have you seen my-", Yang begins to say as she throws her head over the bed before her head crashes into the ground. "OOOOOOWWW! What the-", Yang begins to growl as she rubs the small lump on her head before realizing she just hit her head on the ground. " _Wait, this isn't my bed!_ ", Yang thinks before looking around to see where she's at. She looks at the walls to see a couple of posters on the walls to her left and right, a poster of techno-dubstep cover on the wall to her right, then a poster of what looks like an edgy band dressed in all black on the wall to her left. "Where the hell am I?", the blonde questions herself before looking to the stand to her right to see a sheathed blade. As she looks the sheath up and down, the groggy blonde realizes who's blade it is, gasping as she reels back in the bed before saying, "Ash!? So I'm in SAPR's dorm!?"

"Bingo.", a familiar voice replies to her from across the room.

Yang quickly looks over to its source to find Coco standing in the doorway to the kitchen as the girl takes a sip from her favorite coffee mug, a plain white mug that has a tear drop on the front and text under it that says: 'Your Tears.' "Coco, what are you-", Yang begins to ask before the girl quickly replies, "I could ask you the same thing, Yang." "Waking up in another person's bed isn't a normal occurrence for you, is it? It's okay if it is. Get that stress out however you have to, girl, but don't lose yourself in it.", Coco continues, causing the busty blonde to blush wildly.

"I-We didn't...I don't think we- Shut up!", Yang shouts, stumbling over her words as she tries desperately to defend herself.

Smiling at her new little sister's expense, Coco just laughs, but her laughter suddenly stops when another, much kinder voice calls out from the kitchen, "Come on, Coco. You don't have to be so mean to her. The poor thing just woke up." As the voice gets closer, Yang can see Velvet, who also has a steaming mug of coffee, walking into the room.

"How did I even get here?", Yang asks herself as she rubs her head, trying to remember what happened last night.

Velvet looks to the confused blonde, her brown eyes filled with concern as she observes Yang's lack of memory, causing the Faunus to ask, "What exactly do you remember from last night?"

Yang tries to remember as much as she can and says, as she remembers the events going on, "Well, last night I took Ash to the Three Bears dance club. When we got there, we were dancin and havin a good time. Then I had a drink here, a shot there, a bottle of rum every now and then-"

Before the blonde can finish her train of thought, Coco spits up some of her coffee into her cup in complete shock, lowering her cup to her chest as she lowers her shades to look directly at the young girl in front of her. "A whole bottle of rum?", Coco questions the blonde with a slightly concerned look on her face.

Yang quickly fires back, "It wasn't that big of a bottle! I can handle myself!"

"We weren't questioning that in the slightest, please, go on.", Velvet sheepishly replies as she motions for Yang to continue.

Yang holds her head in frustration as she tries desperately to remember what all happened last night. "I don't know! I had my booze, and after a couple of dances with Ash, it goes black. I can't remember it!", Yang growls back at the bunny girl, her face turning a slight tint of red from her failure.

The confused blonde jumps a little when she hears Ash say, "That's about right.", and she turns to see he's just getting out of the bathroom. "After you showed me how to dance properly, you had a few more drinks and almost punched one of the bouncers for touching you. Then you threw a chair across the dance floor when one of those twins you introduced me to tried to talk to me.", Ash explains, causing Coco to snicker. Ash goes on, explaining the event that transpired, saying, "After that, the owner asked you to leave, but you offered to arm wrestle him instead and called him a coward when he didn't take your offer. It was almost midnight when those twins escorted us out of the club. I managed to get us to the airship docks before the final airship departed to Beacon. And when I helped you to your dorm, you couldn't find your scroll, and when you used mine to call it, we heard it ringing in your dorm."

Hiding her now completely reddened face, Yang tries to make herself smaller as Ash continues on with the story, saying, "Then, you said you would just sleep in my bed, which I agreed to. When I managed to carry you into the room, mostly everyone was asleep, but Sapphire easily caught us. She helped you into her extra pajamas and helped me place you in the bed. I simply slept over in the corner so you could have the bed to yourself."

As Yang hears this, she lets out a sigh of relief before suddenly realizing what she did. "I'm sorry you had to do all that for me! It won't happen again!", Yang exclaims before quickly getting out of bed and trying to rush to the kitchen, but Coco stops the blonde by putting her arm up to block her path.

"And where do you think you're going, Goldilocks?", Coco asks sternly as she glares over her sunglasses at Yang. Coco points over at Ash's bed and says, "Sit back down, I'm not done with you yet, kid."

Unable to defy Coco and Velvet, Yang obeys and sits back down on Ash's bedside.

"Now, what exactly gave you the idea of drinking yourself away while your team's falling apart, Blondie?", Coco questions, scolding the girl as she walks over to her with sass in her hips.

Yang lets out a heavy sigh before saying, "I don't know. I was havin a good time with Ash, teaching him how to dance and whatnot, but something kept eating at me."

Velvet raises an eyebrow at that and asks, "What could be eating at you so badly that you'd try to drown yourself in alcohol to escape it?"

"It was Pyrrha, she said something to me the other day. It..it made me feel helpless... There's nothing I can really do. I couldn't stand up and save you from Cardin, and I can't save my own team from tearing itself apart. I can't do anything. If I do, it'll only make more drama and screw things up further, so I decided to do what I learned from my uncle, drink until the pain's gone.", Yang explains with her head hung low as she tries desperately to avoid the bright lights coming in through the curtains.

"Oh Yang, look up at me sweetie.", Coco calls out to the hunched over girl, her kind words sounding as sweet as honey as Yang hears them. Yang looks up to the brunette with a sad look on her face, hoping for some form of wisdom or kind words to ease her mind, but what she receives is far from sweet. Instead of caring and loving words of wisdom or a gently pat on the shoulder, Yang gets a quick slap across her face from her 'big sister.'

As the blonde holds her now scuffed cheek, Coco scolds Yang for her terrible thought process, growling, "Yeah, jumping in at the wrong moment will fuck everything up for your team. Maybe you'll make things worse, but if you jump into it at the perfect moment you need to, you can go miles to solving any problem. If you just give up on the idea that you could fail, you'll always fail no matter what you do. Doing nothing is worse than failure, Yang. At least you can learn from your failures."

"I can't just 'jump in' and try to fix this! Weiss is seriously pissing everyone off around her! How can I just 'jump in' on that!?", Yang fires back with her yellow aura healing her slightly injured cheek, but Coco stands firm, not backing down to the red-eyed ball of rage before her.

"I don't know kid, but I know damned well that trying and failing is better than doing nothing. Because if you sit here and do nothing, you'll regret it for the rest of your life and just keep asking yourself 'what ifs' or some bullshit. It's just better this way.", Coco sternly replies as she looks down into her mug with a slightly saddened look on her face. Coco motions for Yang to leave, only telling the blonde, "Alright, that's all I had to say. Go on and go to bed.", as she looks down at her cup in deep thought.

"Go to bed, but-", Yang begins to ask before Velvet jingles a set of keys in her right hand, displaying them for Yang and Ash to see.

Ash nods and says, "I see, so you obtained keys to both teams' dorms then."

"Correct. As 'Big Brothers,' we might have to do checkups on your at home behaviors, so we get keys to your dorms. Pretty handy in situations like these though too, right Coco?", Velvet explains, to which her leader simply nods without a word.

Yang gets up from Ash's bed and heads towards the kitchen exit as she says, "I guess I can give it a shot when I wake up. I think I'm gonna go back to bed though, if you guys don't mind."

As Yang walks past Coco, however, the fashionista slaps the busty blonde on the ass as she says, "Good idea, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Coco, we've talked about this! You can't just go around touching people like that! That's not okay!", Velvet exclaims as her pale face turns pink from embarrassment, but her leader only chuckles.

"Oh~ So firm~ Such texture~", the cheeky leader notes as she grabs her own face and admires Yang's butt, making the muscular girl very uncomfortable.

And as Yang goes to leave, Ash stops her as he grabs her arm. Turning to him with a slightly embarrassed face, Yang's surprised to hear the boy say, "I just...want you to know I had a great time last night. Learning how to dance...it was...fun."

"Oh, I enjoyed it too. Maybe we can do it again some time?", Yang happily replies as the embarrassment melts away from her face before leaving for the comfort of her bed.

As she leaves, Ash mutters to himself, "I think...I think I'd like that."

* * *

Back in Vale, Ruby, Blake, Sapphire and Reginald are all walking through the streets before stopping in the city's main square. "Alright, here's copies of each team's list. They color coordinated based on which team needs what.", Ruby explains as she hands everyone a copy.

Sapphire stands next to the little red leader and points at the letters next to the items and continues Ruby's explanation, saying, "We even labeled who has to pick up which item using our last initials. Now, all we have to do is split up into two groups of two and we'll go hunt down these tools."

"Salutations, friend Ruby!", a familiar voice shouts out from behind them, causing the group to turn around and see Penny standing there with a smile on her face and her arms behind her back.

"Penny! I haven't seen you in forever! How've you been?", Ruby quickly replies as she hugs the young redhead.

Penny stands there, somewhat unsure what to do other than say, "I am well, friend Ruby. And what about you and your friends?"

"Oh, we're okay. We're just hunting down stuff for our Dust Class. We're heading to Forever Fall tomorrow, so we need to make sure we're well equipped for the journey.", Ruby happily answers the ginger, causing Penny to look at her with a confused look.

Penny, not sure if it's okay, sheepishly asks, "Would you, by any chance, like me to accompany you? I can help you find deals around Vale."

With a kind smile across her face, Ruby quickly replies with, "Of course, you're a friend, so feel free to tag along as long as you want."

"Yeah, we're all friends here. And with the five of us all working in tandem, we'll get this done in no time.", Sapphire courageously adds before Penny lets out a fake cough.

"Um, perhaps you meant four of us?", Penny asks her as she points to the group, but Sapphire shakes her head.

As Sapphire begins to point to each member of the team, she says, "No, we have you, Ruby, Blake, me, and Reg-", but stops when she sees that Reginald's already gone and disappeared on them. "Wait! He's gone!? Where the hell did he go!?", Sapphire growls as she looks around for the boy, but he's nowhere to be found.

"Who cares? He can handle himself. Let's just go out on the town and get those tools together! Girl power rules! Right Blake!?", Ruby exclaims before looking to Blake for solidarity, to which the girl reluctantly nods with a slight smile on her face.

They go to find their tools, but stop when they hear someone say, "Well at least I'm not the only one who lost their team-mate today." As they turn to see who it is, they see Pyrrha walking over to them from across the street.

"Hey Pyrrha, did I hear you right? You lost your team-mate too?", Sapphire questions the amazon with a raised eyebrow, to which the girl gives a defeated nod.

"I was shopping with him in the downtown district, but he disappeared.", Pyrrha explains as a frown forms on her face, causing the two leaders to look to the redhead with worried glances.

Penny takes a moment to think about this before asking, "Is it possible he ran away?"

"Penny! You don't-", Ruby begins to say before Pyrrha says, "No, she's probably right. I've been giving him the cold shoulder recently, so he probably thought I was going to do the same today. He probably left to avoid me."

"Pyrrha, trust me, Jaune's just an idiot. He wouldn't run away from you like that. He's probably just lost somewhere. You'll see him later.", Sapphire says as she puts her arm around the warrior girl, trying to comfort her as she pulls the redhead closer.

Penny quickly snaps her fingers before saying, "I have a proposition! Why don't we all go to collect your equipment together? It could be as Ruby said; 'Girl Power!'"

Everyone just laughs at Penny's enthusiasm, causing the ginger to blush in embarrassment before Sapphire pats her on the back and says, "Good job, Penny. You lightened up the mood perfectly."

"You know what? I think I'd like that.", Pyrrha happily notes as she wipes away the tears in her eyes with her despair melting away from the kinder souls around her.

* * *

As Reginald runs down a dark alley, he steps out into the sunlight, gasping for breath as he says, "Man, I think I finally escaped. Let's see how they like carrying their own bags for a change." When the boy finally catches his breath, he pulls the list out from his pocket to see what items he needed to pick up, saying, "Alright, what the hell did they want me to do again?"

Looking down at the list, the silver-colored boy sees he's put under food and water, to which he chuckles. " _Alright, basic food and water. I can do that._ ", he thinks to himself before starting to walk down the street on his own.

As he walks down the street, he can't help but think back about what Sapphire said about him needing more friends and his falling out with Persi. He just growls before grumbling under his breath, "She doesn't know me. I don't need friends. I can do perfectly fine on my own."

As he continues down the street, he doesn't see a single person, and he glances around in confusion and asks himself, "What the hell? Usually there's all kinds of people walking around this time of day. Where'd everybody go?" The silence in the air starts to get to him however as all he can hear is the sound of his own footsteps echoing down the street and back. " _Why is this place so quiet!? It's getting on my nerves!_ ", Reginald thinks to himself before rounding a corner to see nobody for miles.

The boy rushes down the street and looks down the next street to his right only to see nobody down that one either. When he looks down the other way, that street looks just the same as before, empty. He continues running down the street before rounding another corner and finally running into someone, literally.

As the two run into each other, they both fall backwards from the collision and landing on their asses. "Hey, watch where you're going!", the person groans in pain and when Reginald looks at them, he sees it's Jaune.

"Jaune? What the hell are you doing here?", Reginald questions the blonde as he pulls himself off the ground.

Reginald's question is only met with further questioning as Jaune nervously perks up at what the boy asked, only replying with, "Well, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out with your leader buying equipment for the field trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but I ditched those guys in the main square. And couldn't I say the same about you? I actually recall Pyrrha saying she was supposed to go with you to do that today? You didn't leave her hanging, did you?", Reginald replies, turning the tables on Jaune and causing the boy to start to panic even further.

" _Quick, use that big brain of yours to think of something!_ ", Jaune thinks as he tries to come up with an excuse.

As Jaune struggles to make up an excuse, Reginald just chuckles at the blonde before saying, "I'm just kidding. There's no need to get all worried about it." With the crisis averted, Jaune nervously laughs this off with the well-dressed boy before Reginald says, "Well, if you don't need anything, I've got shit to do."

As he says this, Jaune remembers multiple time when Reginald talked about his involvement in the Atlesian STG along with being a pro Peeping Tom, which causes the boy to grab Reginald's arm and shout, "Wait!"

Reginald stops and looks back at Jaune before asking, "What? You actually need something? I was kind of kidding about that too."

"I..I need your help.", Jaune admits with a defeated look on his face, catching Reginald's attention.

Reginald turns back to Jaune and sternly asks, "Alright, what's going on?"

"I did something I shouldn't have. Now Pyrrha won't talk to me and Cardin has me on a leash. I need your help with getting him off my back.", Jaune quickly explains, saying everything in one breath as he reaches into his backpack. The blonde pulls out a file and hands it to Reginald, and when he looks at it, it says Cardin's name. Reginald looks inside to find transcripts inside as Jaune says, "You were in the Atlesian STG, right? I need you to sneak into the student archives room and replace Cardin's transcripts with these ones."

"These are fakes, aren't they Jaune?", Reginald sternly questions the boy, causing Jaune to flinch in response to his harsh tone.

"Well, I-", Jaune begins to say before Reginald interrupts him by saying, "I don't wanna know."

After a short moment of silence as Reginald looks over the papers, he closes the folder, causing Jaune to look at him anxiously, waiting for his answer. As the boy looks over to Jaune, he grins happily at him and says, "I'm in."


	18. Forever Fall

As the first year class walks through a beautiful forest full of trees with red leafs with Professors Peach and Goodwitch leading the way. "Wow, this place is...wow.", Yang begins to say as her eyes widen with wonder at the sight of the eye catching trees against the blue sky.

Professor Peach looks over her shoulder to the girl with a slight smile and says, "Yes, the vibrant colors throughout all of Forever Fall are quite beautiful. But remember, we aren't just here for the scenery."

"Yes, we must remain focused in all environments, even one such as this. We must focus on completing our objectives as swiftly and effectively as possible, as this place is full of the Creatures of Grimm and we don't want to have to bring any of you back in body bags.", Glynda adds as she turns around and sternly looks to her students.

Professor Peach nods in response to the other Professor's advice and says, "That is quite true, however, if you lose yourself in your mission, you'll forget to enjoy the little things in life. You should try your best to have a fine balance between a focused mind with an open one."

Letting out a heavy sigh at Peach's playful response, the blonde professor rolls her eyes in annoyance before saying, "None the less, let's get to today's objectives. You all will need to set up a base camp for your team and collect a few jars of the Forever Fall sap from these trees."

Professor Peach claps her hands happily before saying, "Yes, we'll be using this sap for our upcoming experiments next week. Be aware that even though the sap tastes incredible, you should refrain from eating too much of it. This sap is a slight tranquilizer, so ingesting too much sap will cause you to pass out."

With this, the students all split up with their respective teams to set up their camps. Jaune tries to do the same, aiming to follow after Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha, but Cardin stops him from behind, grabbing the boy by his shoulder. "Ah, there you are, Jaune. I've been looking for you all morning. How about you come hangout with me and my team. We'll have all kinds of fun.", Cardin suggests to the boy as Jaune looks back to the bully with fearful eyes.

The blonde warrior looks back to Pyrrha, who glares back at him before letting out a huff and walking off to rejoin the rest of her team. As he sees this, he lets out a defeated sigh before reluctantly saying, "Sure, why not?", and leaving with team CRDL.

Sapphire and her team watch as Jaune leaves with the jerks and Persi asks, "Why is he even hanging out with those jerks?"

Reginald looks to his partner with a slight grin before saying, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. Jaune's got that all under control."

"What exactly aren't you telling us, Reginald?", Sapphire questions the silver tongued boy with a slight glare aimed his way, but the boy just shrugs it off.

Reginald, trying to dodge the question, simply puts his hands behind his head before looking up at the sky and saying, "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for you guys. Just keep your ears to the ground and you might just find out."

"Very well, let's find our location for our base.", Ash suggests before walking off ahead of everyone else in search of a nice place to start setting up their campsite.

"Hey, wait up!", Sapphire exclaims as she and the rest of the team follow after the boy.

As they leave, Yang and Blake carry their baggage, looking for a spot to set their base camp with Ruby and Weiss behind them, but they're quickly separated when Glynda and Professor Peach call for the red and white duo. When they get close to the Professors, Professor Peach tells Weiss, "Miss Schnee, I've been working very hard with Professor Goodwitch to help you two with your...situation..."

"I'm still against this in its entirety, but since Professor Peach asked me so _kindly_ to look into the matter for you, I will search for a way for you to be placed on another team, Miss Schnee. But as of this moment, you're still teammates, so I expect you to act like it. Do I make myself clear?", Glynda continues as she looks down at the girls, pushing up her glasses with a single finger as they start to slip down the bridge of her nose.

Weiss happily nods and replies with, "Of course, Professor. As long as Ruby can act more mature, I think this will work out just fine until then."

Ruby takes this quick jab with a scowl on her face, but lets it go with a deep exhale before saying, "If that's what you want, feel free to lead the team today."

Weiss, who seems to jump a little at this response at first, preening her feathers at the thought of being the leader and saying, "Finally some sensible reason out of that little head of yours. Very well, I'll take up the responsibility of Team Leader for you." As the heiress strolls past Ruby with a confident stride, she flips her ponytail dramatically, causing Ruby to give her a less than impressed look and reluctantly follows her lead.

* * *

As team SAPR finally finds the best spot to build their base, they set down their bags and get ready to set up their tent. "Alright, who's set up a tent before?", Reginald asks as he looks to the rest of his team.

Sapphire chuckles and asks, "Who hasn't set up a tent before?", to which Ash and Persi raise their hands. Nobody's exactly surprised when Ash raises his hand, but when Persi raises his hand, this earns the Faunus confused looks from both his partner and leader.

"What? I didn't exactly get to go camping back in Vacuo.", Persi quickly shoots back in response to their confused looks.

Reginald raises an eyebrow at this and asks, "But isn't Vacuo the most laid-back of the four kingdoms? What gives?", to which Persi lets out a loud groan.

"Vacuo isn't exactly all partying and fun, it's more complicated than that. And long-story-short, I didn't exactly have a great childhood there. Let's just leave it at that, okay?", Persi replies, instantly hoping that someone would let the topic die.

Reginald surprising lays off, saying, "Fine by me. Let's just get this thing setup then."

"Actually, I have a better idea.", Sapphire informs them before picking up another bag of stuff and handing it over to Persi.

The bear looks down at with a furrowed brow before opening it to see it's full of glass jars, all of which are empty. "You two go out and collect our team a few jars of sap while we get the tent ready. I want to get a head start on the other teams.", Sapphire orders them before returning to the tent bag.

"W-what? But, don't you-", Persi begins to say before Reginald answers the call with, "Fine, let's go Persi." The bear looks over to his partner, surprised by his new attitude before complying with their leader and heading out to collect a few jars of sap.

As the two boys walk off together, Ash asks her, "Is that truly a wise strategy? Professor Goodwitch did inform us about Grimm being in this forest. Shouldn't we stay together?"

"Nah, they'll be fine. Besides, they can use a little alone time together.", the confident leader answers her partner with a slight smile aimed his way, to which Ash gives her a stern nod as he picks up a few pieces of the tent.

As he looks to the pieces with a befuddled look, he glances over to Sapphire and asks, "How exactly do you put these pieces together?"

Sapphire, now realizing her slight error, puts her face in her open palm as she lets out a defeated sigh and admits, "Yeah, this'll take a minute."

* * *

Deeper into the forest of Forever Fall, Persi and Reginald are walking together as Persi carries the bag of jars. "So, do we look for a big tree to tap or does that matter?", Reginald asks with a slightly confused look to his partner.

Persi just shrugs in response and replies with, "I don't think that really matters. We just need to tap a few of them to get enough sap for a few jars. I don't think we'll get a whole lot of sap from just one tree."

Reginald nods before rummaging through the jar bag and pulling out a few tapping devices. "Alright, here we GO!", Reginald exclaims as he goes to pierce a nearby tree with the tapper. With his arm coated in his aura, he stabs the tapper right into the tree and a slightly red sap starts to slowly trickle out from the wound. "Good, good, this is progress.", Reginald mutters to himself as he grabs one of the jars and holds it right under the tapper. The well-dressed boy looks over to his partner and says, "Come on, grab a tree and get some sap.", to which the boy complies.

Following his partner's example, the Faunus walks over to a nearby tree and taps it the same way Reginald did, but his sap is flowing much quicker than Reginald's.

"Looks like you hit the jackpot! We'll have this done in no time!", Reginald suggests with a cheeky grin on his face as the sap continues to pour out from their trees.

Persi just glances over to his partner before returning his gaze back to his jar and focusing on his work instead.

After an awkward moment of silence, Reginald looks over to Persi with a slightly concerned glance. "Hey Persi.", Reginald quickly says, gaining the boy's attention as he looks over his shoulder to Reginald. Reginald takes a deep breath before saying, "I'm sorry."

"What was that?", Persi questions the silver boy, raising an eyebrow after hearing what Reginald just confessed.

Reginald lets out a slight growl under his breath before saying, "I'm sorry I was such an ass before, okay? I know we're partners and all, and I should be trying harder to be less of an ass, but-", but before he can finish, Persi cuts him off by saying, "It's fine." Reginald reels back a bit at this, not seeming to expect the Faunus to take his apology so easily.

Persi looks over to Reginald, the Faunus' slit pupils focusing on the other boy's remorseful expression, as he continues, saying, "It's fine, you're not the only one who acted like an ass. I shouldn't have been so pissed at you for a single mistake. We were in the heat of it all, so I can't really blame you for not seeing me there."

"Not to mention getting tunnel vision on that Schnee brat. I'm..I'm just sorry about all that...", Reginald adds, defeat ringing true through his voice.

Persi lets out a heavy sigh as he hears this before saying, "It's fine. We're partners, so we're gonna be stuck with one another for a while. If I didn't forgive ya for something simple like that, then we'd never be able to work as an actual team now, would we?" They look to each other, both giving the other a slight smile before hearing a deep growl from the depths of the forest.

Reginald quickly ties his and Persi's jars to their tappers before looking around for the source of the noise. "You heard that, right?", Reginald asks with a slight growl as Persi stands up and draws his weapon from his back, backing up against each other to eliminate their blind spots.

The bear gives his partner a quick nod before answering with, "Yeah, if I had to guess they're probably not friendly."

"Then we'll just have to give them hell now, won't we?", Reginald cheekily suggest as his wires zip around them, seeming to create a small barrier. And as the silver boy glances over his shoulder at his partner, he gives the Faunus a quick wink as he says, "Just try not to get in my way this time, okay?"

Persi just chuckles at the boy's cocky attitude before shooting back with, "And try to watch where you're weaving those thing, don't want to cut down the whole forest now, do ya?", as he cocks his shotgun.

* * *

Later that day, elsewhere in Forever Fall, Jaune is walking through the forest with four jars of sap. He's mostly exhausted, walking slowly as he tries desperately to keep from dropping the glass jars in his hands. " _Alright, I'm gonna tell him off and go back to my team with this sap and tell them that this is what I was doing all day. There's no need to get them involved in all this anyways._ ", Jaune thinks to himself as he continues walking through the forest.

As he walks into a more open area in the forest, he sees Cardin and the rest of team CRDL laying about in their camp site. "Oh, there you are Jaune. And you've come back with four jars?", Cardin says as he sees the jars in Jaune's hands. Cardin lets out a slightly annoyed chuckle with an irritated glare aimed at the blonde before saying, "Oh Jaune, I knew you weren't that bright, but I thought you'd at least be able to count. I told you to get six jars of sap, _six_. I guess this'll have to do."

"Cardin, these jars are-", Jaune begins to say before he's suddenly cut off by Cardin as the bully says, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, we have one more job for you to do.", and he pulls Jaune off with him.

Cardin drags Jaune off to a nearby hilltop along with his team and they quickly lay down on the ground as they look over the hill. "Cardin, what are we doing here?", Jaune questions the brute, earning himself a punch to the back of the head.

Cardin quickly growls back at the ignorant boy, "Shut it, just keep your head down and your mouth shut." The leader looks to Dove, who's peering through a pair of binoculars, and asks the boy, "Dove, do you see her yet?"

Dove replies with a quick series of nods and says, "Yep, giant red head at two o'clock.", before putting down his binoculars and pointing off to their target.

Jaune picks up the binoculars to see what they're talking about and when he looks to where Dove's pointing, he sees Pyrrha as she's tapping sap from a tree and Ren and Nora who're work together to quickly tap a tree farther away from the redhead. The crimson warrior finishes filling a jar with the sap before removing her tapper and sealing the jar with a confident smile as she admires her handiwork.

The sight of the girl's smile causes Jaune to smile a bit before Cardin snatches the binoculars away from him. He looks up to Cardin and asks, "What's going on Cardin? What are you planning?", to which the plotting bully grins.

"Payback.", Cardin coldly replies as he looks to the redhead off in the distance with a sinister grin on his face.

" _Pyrrha? What is he-_ ", Jaune begins to think before Cardin slams his fist against the ground and growls, "That's the one. Red hair, thinks she's better than everyone and that she's soooo smart. Russel, the box."

Russel quickly complies to his leader's wishes and hands his leader a box marked with a 'W' on the front.

As Cardin snatches the box from the snot-colored boy, the confident leader says, "Alright, boys, last night Jaune manages to round up a whole box of Rapier Wasps for me. Now we're gonna put them to good use." Cardin then grabs one of the jars and says, "According to one of the essays he wrote for me last week, these little bastards just love all things sweet. I'm thinkin' we get ourselves a little payback and show her not to mess with team CRDL."

Cardin and his team quickly stand up, ready to initiate the plan as Jaune just looks up at them with a concerned look on his face. Seeing this, Cardin grabs Jaune by his chest plate and pulls him to his feet while telling the blonde, "And you're gonna be the one to do it.", as he shoves the jar of sap into Jaune's hands.

"Do what?", Jaune questions the bully with a more panicked look on his face, to which Cardin bluntly replies, "Hit her with the sap, you idiot."

Cardin then grabs Jaune by his short blonde hair and growls, "Or I could have a little chat with Professor Goodwitch? But if I did that, you'd be sent home a complete loser, wouldn't you Jaune? You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" Jaune reluctantly looks down at the jar of sap as Cardin tells him, "Come on, we don't have all day. Either you wail that jar at that little know it all, or you're getting sent home on the first airship out of Beacon."

The blonde holds the jar up, as if he's going to actually throw the sap at Pyrrha, and Cardin begins to grin along with the rest of his team. Jaune's concerned look quickly shifts to anger, however, as he sees Pyrrha actually enjoying herself, laughing at Nora burping after sucking down a whole jar of sap on her own, much to Ren's dismay. The boy quickly spins around to Cardin before exclaiming, "No!", causing the whole team to look at him with slightly confused glares.

"What did you just say?", Cardin growls as he takes a step towards the boy, his voice seeming to shake Jaune to his core.

But Jaune holds to his guns and shouts back, "I said, NO!", before chucking the jar at the bully in retaliation for all the torment he's been put through these past weeks.

As the jar breaks across Cardin's chest plate, it covers his family crest with the red sap, causing the prideful leader to growl in anger. "You're gonna regret that, Jauny-boy.", Cardin threatens before charging up to the boy and punching him full force in the stomach.

Since Jaune didn't have his aura up, it causes the boy to drop to his knees in pain as he holds his stomach and gasps for air. "I think it's about time we had a nice, long talk together, Jaune.", Cardin says ominously to the boy before knocking Jaune out with a swift kick to the head and looking to his teammates, who only give him worried looks.

The enraged brute glares back at the cowards and growls, "Don't just stand there, pick him up. We're taking him to Sheer Cliff."

As Dove and Sky spring into action, they pick up Jaune, holding the boy against his will, they follow their leader through the forest as he says, "We'll show you what happens when you mess with team CRDL."

* * *

When Jaune wakes up, he finds himself with his face in the dirt and his head throbbing. He tries desperately to lift himself off the ground, but before he can the boy's met with a swift kick to his ribs from an iron boot.

"Ah, you're finally waking up, huh?", Cardin dickishly asks the beaten boy as he flips Jaune over on his back with his foot like he were roadkill.

Jaune looks up to see Cardin with a cocky grin on his face and his three teammates standing a few feet away, watching with slightly worried looks on their faces. "You know Jaune, I was willing to look past your idiotic idea of shorting us on sap today, but going off like that like you're all big and bad, well, I can't have that now can I?", Cardin continues as he continues to beat on Jaune as the boy covers his face with his forearms.

After a few swift kicks and stomps, Cardin continues, saying, "You should really remember your place, Jaune. You're nothing. Nobody likes you, and if I'm being honest I could just dump you out here in the middle of nowhere and nobody would even care." "You don't have any friends! Your team hates you at this point! And I doubt your family would be happy to see a failure like you come crawling back home! Maybe you'd just be better off dead!", Cardin continues mocking the defenseless boy, now shouting at the boy as the beatdown goes on.

Cardin suddenly stops his beating to grab Jaune by his chest plate and drag him over to the cliff. The crazed bully holds Jaune over the cliff with both hands firmly gripping the boy's chest plate as he says, "How about I just drop you off this cliff!? Since you threw that sap at me, you clearly have a deathwish, so I might as well help you out! That's what real friends are for, right Jauny-boy!?"

The power-crazed bully start to break down into laughter at the sight of Jaune's frightened face as the boy tries desperately not to fall to his death, but that quickly changes when they all hear a loud, ferocious roar come from the nearby forest. They all nervously look around for the source and Cardin tosses Jaune back to the safety of solid dirt before drawing his mace with an irritated scowl on his face.

"You want some too, ugly!? Come get some!", Cardin exclaims in his rage, to which a large Ursa leaps out of the forest to face him.

The Grimm's armor is unlike any Grimm they've ever encountered beforehand, and as Jaune looks up at it, he thinks, " _T-that Grimm, it has bones all over its body! What the hell!?_ "

Seeing this, the weaker members of team CRDL are beyond terrified by the giant Grimm and run off to the safety of their campsite as Russel shouts, "That's a big Ursa!"

Cardin doesn't back down though and decides to face the beast alone, but as he courageously swings his mace at the deadly beast, the attack only bounces off of its boney armor. " _I-It's strong! My attack did nothing to it!_ ", Cardin thinks, disbelief filling his eyes as they widen at the sight of the Ursa's large paw coming straight for him. The monster's attack hits the boy clean in the chest, causing Cardin to skid along the ground until he finally comes to a stop by the cliffside, stabbing the handle of his mace to slow himself down to a stop.

The Ursa rushes him down and goes to swipe at him one more time, but Cardin successfully blocks the attack with his mace, though he loses it over the cliff in the process. With his weapon gone, Cardin is at the mercy of the Grimm, which chooses to swiftly eliminate him with one powerful swipe of his claw.

Cardin sees this attack coming and quickly thinks, _"I can't use my nova here! If I do, it'll take the whole cliffside, and I don't have enough aura after that attack to fly myself back up here if I_ _fall!_ " Panicked and afraid for his life, Cardin closes his eyes as he waits for the end, but when the attack doesn't come he's more than confused. He opens his eyes to see Jaune standing there in front of him, protecting him with his shield.

Jaune manages to force the beast back with a quickly bash of his shield, thinking, _"Attacking it won't do anything, its armor's too thick... We'll just have to stall it until we figure something out... Someone, anyone, please come help us..._ " , as he holds up his sword and shield, ready to hold off the beast to the best of his ability.

* * *

Back with Ash and Sapphire, they've finished setting up their team's tent and are helping Blake and Yang set up their team's tent. "I can't believe we'll be here all weekend.", Yang happily notes as she finishes hammering in the last of the pegs to hold down the tent's corners.

"Yeah, this place is full of all kinds of nasty Grimm from what I've heard. We'll need to set up a patrol schedule to make sure none of them get the drop on us.", Sapphire adds as she and Yang step back from the tent to get a better look at it.

"Hey guys! Wow, you guys finished setting up the tent already!?", they hear a familiar voice happily exclaim from behind them, and when they look to see who it is, they see Ruby and Weiss coming back with jars full of sap.

Sapphire cheerfully smiles to the girls and says, "Yep, and it looks pretty good if you ask me."

"I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much.", Weiss fires back as she walks over to the tent and passes Blake the jars she's carrying. She quickly slips off her designer boots before stepping into the tent. As the heiress thoroughly inspects the tent's structure, she thinks to herself, _"It's structurally sound... No visible mistakes that I could find, at least not yet. And she even divided the rooms up just like I asked, very good.",_ as she keeps a stern look on her face. The snow colored girl steps out of the tent and slides her boots back on as she says, "It seems up to my standards, so I believe it's time for me to fulfill my part of the bargain."

"Here ya go, four jars of sap, as we promised.", Ruby says to the one eyed girl as she hands her four of the jars she has with her.

As she sees all the sap the duo brought her as payment, Sapphire lets out a nervous chuckle and says, "You guys don't have to give us this much. We only helped set up your tent. It wasn't even that much work honestly.", but Weiss shakes her head, refusing to accept Sapphire's pity.

"That simply won't do. A good leader never goes back on her word, so as promised we'll be giving you half of our sap from this run. But don't think just because we're even now that you'll beat us here. We're just getting started.", Weiss confidently replies to the other leader as she looks over at Sapphire with a fire burning in her eyes.

Seeing the clear charisma in the heiress' eyes, Sapphire chuckles at this new side of Weiss and asks, "What, are you making this into some kind of competition or something?"

"Yeah, let's make this into a full blown competition! Whoever has the most sap by the end of this has to-", Yang begins to suggest before getting cut off by the sounds of girlish screams.

Both teams look over to the source of the screaming before seeing Russel, Dove, and Sky all running towards them. Dove and Sky rush past the two teams but Russel ends up bumping into Sapphire, to which she grabs to boy, stopping his escape. "What the hell's going on!? What are you-", Sapphire begins to question the panicked boy before Russel mutters, "U-Ursa! A big one! It's got Cardin! Jaune too!"

"What!?", Pyrrha exclaims as she marches over to the boy. The warrior girl grabs the boy by his shirt and pulls him close with a glare on her face, freeing him from Sapphire's electric grip only to trap him in her furious grasp, before growling, "Where are they?"

Russel, afraid of what the redhead might do to him if he doesn't answer, tells her, "T-they're to the North of here! Near the cliffs!"

With that said, Pyrrha drops the cowardly boy, who runs for his life, and turns to see Nora in the distance at their camp, asleep with Ren looking over her, unaware of what's going on.

"Don't worry, we'll help you.", Sapphire tells Pyrrha she places a firm hand on the redhead's shoulder. Pyrrha kindly smiles back to her friend, but their slightly happy moment is cut off by the sound of Jaune screaming in the distance.

"Come on, we have to hurry!", Ruby exclaims as she rushes on ahead of everyone to scout out the situation and the others rush to follow after her.

* * *

As the group arrives at the cliff, they see a large Ursa covered in thick boney armor, which Cardin and Jaune are dodging to the best of their ability. "We have the advantage, let's go team!", Weiss orders as she prepares to strike, but Ruby holds her hand up, halting her movements as she blocks the heiress' path with an extended arm.

"Yang, Blake, Pyrrha, Sapphire, Ash, you all cover the rear! Weiss, I'll need your help with taking this thing down!", Ruby quickly orders as she draws Crescent Rose and focuses her sight on the Ursa's movements.

Glaring over at the little red girl, Weiss growls at her partner, "What!? I'm the leader here! We have the advantage! We should just rush it all at once and take down our target! Do you want those two to get hurt!?"

To her surprise, Ruby quickly snaps back at Weiss, saying, "Just do what I tell you! If you don't they'll die!"

As Ruby watches the Grimm's movements, she sees Cardin dodge it's mighty swipe as he picks up one of the jars of sap laying on the ground. Cardin breaks the jar off a nearby rock and thinks to himself, " _It's not a mace, but it's something._ ", before pointing the jagged end of his new makeshift weapon at the beast. The Grimm quickly rushes Cardin down before knocking him down with a large swipe of his claw and pinning the boy to the ground, but stops and sniffs the air for a moment. It looks down at the sap covering the rock before starting to lick it off with its tongue.

"The sap? It's distracted by the sap!", Jaune exclaims in disbelief before grabbing a jar of his own and opening it, releasing the sap's succulent aroma. The Ursa smells this and looks over to Jaune as it continues to sniff the air. When it picks up the trail from Jaune's jar, the beast starts chasing after the blonde, freeing Cardin in the process, but leaving Jaune to the mercy of the giant bear.

"Alright, I think I know it's patterns now. We'll have to knock this thing off the cliff, so I'll need a boost from one of your glyphs to do it. Can you do that Weiss?", Ruby explains as she transforms Crescent Rose into its scythe form.

Weiss begrudgingly nods before responding with, "We'll just need an opening."

As everyone hears this, Jaune sprints for the cliff, drawing the Ursa closer to their desired location. While the Ursa takes the bait, Pyrrha repositions herself, getting slightly closer to the battle, but staying out of Ruby's and Weiss' lines of sight in order to keep from distracting them.

Weiss quickly forms a series of black glyph behind Ruby and pulls her back like an arrow, and when Ruby shouts, "Fire!", Weiss launches her.

Ruby goes flying into the Ursa like a speeding rose bullet, sending the beast tumbling forward as she and Crescent Rose bounce back off it's hard armor. As the Grimm stumbles to the ledge, it reaches out to grab the nearest thing, that being Jaune in this case. As the beast reaches out, trying to take Jaune with it, the boy starts to dodge its attack as he sees it coming.

" _No! That's not enough! I have to-_ ", Pyrrha begins to think before holding her hand out towards Jaune. As she focuses her thoughts on the boy's chest plate, her gauntlet begins to glow with a dark blackish aura and Jaune seems to be pulled a few extra inches away from the Ursa's claw as it only scrapes his chest plate. Jaune falls over on his butt as the Ursa plunges to its death, letting out a blood curdling roar as it falls, and Yang and Ash look over to Pyrrha with confused glances.

"Um, what?", Yang asks as she looks to the redhead with slightly open mouth and a furrowed brow.

Pyrrha smiles over at the busty blonde and asks, "What? What's wrong?"

"What was that? Was that your semblance?", Ash questions the warrior with a slightly confused look in his eyes.

The crimson warrior nods and goes on to explain, "Yes, Ruby has her speed and rose petals, Weiss has her glyphs, you have your aura swords, and my semblance is Polarity."

"It's quite a powerful semblance. It suites her perfectly, wouldn't you say?", Sapphire notes with a slight grin on her face as she looks over at the confused duo.

Before they can continue their conversation, they're interrupted by Weiss shouting, "What was that!?" The heiress marches over to Ruby, who's still trying to regain her footing from bouncing off the Ursa, and shouts, "That was reckless, idiotic, and nothing if not overly dangerous! It's because of this kind of behavior that I have to keep treating you like a kid, Ruby! What do you have to say for yourself!?"

Ruby doesn't say anything at first, only glaring up at the princess and as she places Crescent Rose back on her back, she finally speaks up, saying, "Do you even know what that kind of Grimm was? It was an **Elder Alpha Ursa**. They're a rare kind of Ursa that only appear in these woods, and they're beyond strong. They eat the sap and leaves from these trees along with their usual diet to get harder than average armor that most of our strongest blunt weapons can't even break. And as an Alpha Grimm, it can call for reinforcements. If it knew it was at a real disadvantage, it would've howled to tell its buddies that it needed backup."

With that said, they hear a loud howl come from over the cliff and Jaune looks over to see that the Ursa is barely clinging to the cliffside, plunging its claws into the stone wall to keep from dying. The boy quickly chucks his open jar of sap down at the Ursa, hitting it straight in the face and causing the beast to reel back and fall off the cliffside wall into the ocean below.

Weiss' and Ruby's eyes widen in fear of what's to come as they hear the sound of rustling leaves nearby. "Group up! They're coming!", Ruby orders and the others follow suit, with the exception of Cardin.

As the team of Huntsmen and Huntresses back up against one another, they look around for any signs of movement, which they see moving straight for them through the woods. "There they are! Get ready!", Pyrrha exclaims as she and the other Huntsmen ready their weapons.

To their surprise, Grimm don't leap out at them, but their boney masks do. Eight Ursa masks crash against the ground with a loud thud, and to their surprise, they hear a familiar voice say to them, "Hey, you should watch where you're pointing those things." When they looks for the source, they look up into a nearby tree to see Reginald sitting up there as he says, "We might just take that as a threat."

"We?", Weiss questions the cocky boy as he looks down at her with a grin before Persi steps out of the woods with two King Taijitu masks in one hand and his axe in the other.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones to run into trouble out here. What happened to you guys?", Persi asks the group as he tosses the masks down next to Reginald's pile of masks.

Sapphire lets out a loud chuckle at the sight of their handiwork and says, "Looks like they eliminated their backup for us. Good call, Ruby. I doubt we'd 've been able to take that many Grimm with just the eight of us."

With her face slightly flushed from the complement, Ruby rubs the back of her head nervously and sheepishly replies with, "Really? I just thought that plan up on the spot. It was nothing, really."

And as she watches this unfold from the sidelines, Weiss just growls as she bites her lip, her pearly white teeth digging into her pink lips. "Why I- I should! UGH!", Weiss growls at the hooded girl before storming off back to their campsite.

With Weiss gone, Reginald and Persi rejoin their team and as they talk to one another about what just happened, Jaune walks over to Cardin. Cardin scowls up at Jaune, but the boy extends his hand out to him, offering for him to take it. The defeated bully reluctantly takes it and as Jaune pulls the boy up, he pulls Cardin close and tells him, "You don't control me now."

Cardin chuckles and mocks the boy again, saying, "Yeah right, I still know your secret, Jaune. Do you really want me to tell everyone about it?"

"About my fake transcripts, sure, go ahead.", Jaune says out loud for everyone to hear, causing Cardin to give him a baffled look. "So what I have fake transcripts, those guys don't care about that. Do you wanna know why, Cardin? Because they're my friends, and friends are there for one another no matter what. But I still have to worry about you telling Glynda or any of the other Professors about all this, so I made arrangements to take care of that little problem.", Jaune confidently continues as Cardin pulls away from Jaune's grip and takes a step back from him, backing himself between Jaune and the cliff.

Seeing his clear advantage, Jaune turns the tables on the bully and starts walking towards him as he says, "You see, having friends has its advantages. For instance, your stealthy Special Ops friend could, I don't know, sneak into the school's records room and replace a certain someone's files with fake ones. Looks like the tables have really turned, huh Cardin?"

With his back against the cliff and his foot an inch off the ledge, he looks down at the long drop and the waves as the slam into the spiky stones bellow then back to Jaune, who's holding out his hand again to Cardin. "All I want is a truce. You don't tell anyone about my secret, and I won't tell anybody about yours. And if you try to hurt my team, try to hurt my FRIENDS, I will ruin your life, got that?", Jaune sternly says to the bully with a slight glare as he continues to hold his hand out to him.

Cardin reluctantly takes his hand and says, "Fine. If you don't bother me, I won't bother you. Agreed?"

"Agreed.", Jaune replies with a stern shake of the hand before returning to his team as Cardin grinds his teeth in frustration and embarrassment.

* * *

Later that night, Pyrrha is out on patrol for Grimm with her javelin and shield in hand.

"Hey Pyrrha.", a voice calls out to her, and when she looks, she sees Jaune walking up to her.

"Jaune? Is it time for us to switch already?", Pyrrha asks her partner with a confused glance, to which Jaune shakes his head no.

As he nervously rubs the back of his head, Jaune says, "No, I just wanted to talk to you is all. If you don't mind, that is."

"No, go right ahead, but I have to keep to my route. Do you mind following me?", Pyrrha replies as she motions for Jaune to walk alongside her, to which he nods and joins her side.

As they walk together along the guard's route, there's a slight moment of awkward silence before Jaune lets out a defeated sigh and says, "Pyrrha, I'm sorry. I was a jerk and you were only trying to be nice to me and I kept thinking that I had to be a man and do this all on my own and-", but before he can finish his never-ending sentence, Pyrrha interrupts him by sternly saying, "Jaune.", catching his attention.

He looks over at her, expecting her to be glaring over at him with an irritated look, but finds the kind smile he remembers as she says, "It's okay." "Your team really misses its leader, you know. Maybe you should hangout with them a bit more than Cardin?", Pyrrha suggests, causing Jaune to chuckle.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be hanging out with him any time soon.", Jaune happily replies with a slight smile towards the girl.

Pyrrha chuckles a bit as he says this before saying, "Well, if that's everything, I need to make sure I focus on my patrol.", as she continues on her path and Jaune stops dead in his tracks, stepping in front of her to block her path.

"There was one more thing...", Jaune timidly replies, earning a curious look from the redhead. She focuses her attention on him and on further inspection notices he's standing there nervously tapping his finger tips together before he asks, "I know I don't deserve it after everything I've done, but...would you still be willing to help me..to help me become a better swordsman?"

When she hears this, she turns away from him with a gleeful smile on her face before recollecting herself and turning back to the boy. With a stern look on her face, she walks over to the boy as she sheathes her weapon and when she gets close enough, she shoves him with a bit of force, causing him to fall over.

"Hey!", Jaune exclaims as rubs his now hurt butt, and Pyrrha just puts her hands on her hips as she looks down at him.

"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground.", Pyrrha scolds him as he looks up to her with a defeated look on his face. To his surprise, she offers a hand to him, which he happily takes before she pulls him to his feet.

As he rises to his feet, the two warriors look to one another and Pyrrha kindly tells him, "There's a lot for you to improve on, Jaune. But if we keep at it, I think you'll be a great fighter.", causing the boy to give her a caring smile in turn.


	19. Beauty & The Beast

It's another day at Beacon Academy as Glynda stands off on the sidelines of the Amphitheater. She looks to the left side of the battlefield to Team JNPR with their weapons drawn and asks, "Contestants, are you ready?"

"Yeah.", Jaune quickly yet sternly replies as his three teammates nod in response.

Glynda then looks over to the other side of the arena to Team SAPR, who also have their weapons ready, and Sapphire nods before saying, "Ready when you are, Professor."

The Professor gets a slight smile at the sight of these two confident leaders before returning to her usual cold self and raising her hand up into the air. "With that, let the battle commence! Begin!", the tall blonde exclaims from the ringside before a loud buzzer sounds through the arena.

Nora quickly transforms her hammer into its grenade launcher form and launches three pink grenades at the enemy team, missing them while laying down an almost pinkish smoke screen.

"Reginald! Defensive barriers!", Sapphire orders, to which the boy nods and says, "Got it, Boss." The silver-colored boy quickly unleashes his wires, whirling them through the smoke and creating a web of threads to prevent their approach.

"Alright, Pyrrha, Ren, covering fire!", Jaune exclaims as he leads the charge towards team SAPR. They give their leader a quick nod before transforming their weapons into their gun forms and opening fire upon the group.

"Reginald!", Sapphire quickly exclaims to which the boy quickly replies, "On it!", and tightens his wires in such a way that the wires form strong walls that block their shots.

" _As expected! Reginald used his threads to block our attack! This means he has to use a combination of his threads to make sure that the mesh walls are strong enough to block the shots! That means that he doesn't have enough to keep up a large barrier around his whole team, which would leave an opening!_ ", Jaune strategizes as he rushes in to take advantage of the chaos.

Sapphire looks to the confident leader as he makes his way towards her team, sensing him through the smoke before exclaiming, "I'm not gonna give up that easy, Jaune!", and parrying his downward slash with the sword in her mouth. She goes to slash at him with the swords in her left hand, but he manages to push himself back with his sword and block the attack with his shield. The power from the impact is strong enough to force the smoke around the two warriors away, revealing a slight grin on the boy's face.

" _Wait, where's-_ ", Sapphire begins to think before looking up to the sky to see Nora flipping through the air.

The girl is happily flipping through the air with her hammer before she finally pulls its trigger and goes hurdling down towards them. " _We have you now, SAPR!_ ", Jaune thinks with a grin on his face as he sees the surprised expression on Sapphire's face.

His confidence quickly fades when Sapphire's bewildered look suddenly turns into a confident smile. "Jasper! Eyes to the sky!", the one-eyed warrior exclaims, to which Persi calls out, "I've got her!"

With a twirl of his shotgun, it quickly transforms into its axe form, and as he lowers the blade to the ground, Ash steps on top of it. All of team JNPR is left baffled by this when Persi uses his inhuman strength to hurl Ash straight at Nora like a human cannonball! As the two fighters head straight for each other, Nora swings her hammer down at the boy with a slightly crazed smile. Ash quickly shifts out of the way of her attack, causing her eyes to widen in disbelief before the boy quickly kicks her down into the ground.

"He dodged midair!? How's that possible!?", Jaune exclaims as Nora crashes into the ground. The boy sees an odd shimmer in the air and when he focuses a slight amount of his aura into his eyes, he manages to see that Reginald's wires are lightly wrapped around Ash's torso! Jaune quickly forces the blue-haired girl back, shoving her swords away with a bash of his shield before muttering under his breath, "So he's using his threads to improve their movements..."

"Oh, so you've figured that part out already, have you?", Sapphire asks with a cocky grin on her face.

"I'm a bit smarter than I look.", Jaune confidently replies to her cocky grin before taking a more defensive stance, placing his shield in front of his body for protect as he holds his sword above the top of it.

"Ash! Reginald! Time to go all out! Let's put them on the defense!", Sapphire orders and Reginald lets out a cheer, saying, "Finally! The good part!"

Ash suddenly lands next to the black-haired boy before saying, "Understood, switching to more offensive tactics." He suddenly rushes in, dodging Ren's and Pyrrha's bullets as he moves at an unbelievable speed, his legs coated in his aura as he rushes them down. Ren sees this coming and slashes at the boy with his knives, but Ash manages to block the attack with his sheath.

"Ren!", Pyrrha exclaims as she shifts her weapon back into its javelin form, preparing to help the boy. Before she can, however, Reginald slashes the ground with his wires coated in Earth Dust and making a tall wall between the two as he says, "Sorry, I can't let you do that. If you two were to gang up on Ash, that'd just be bad. Don't worry, I'll keep you from getting bored."

She quickly turns and reacts just fast enough to Reginald's incoming wires to block his wild slashes with her shield. This, however, forces her to back up against the newly formed stone wall, causing the boy to let out an excited laugh before saying, "Come on Pyrrha! Aren't you supposed to be the best fighter from Mistral? Show me a good time!"

As he says this, Pyrrha manages to deflect his wires with her shield before rushing in towards him. He sees this and only grins as he surrounds himself with a whirling wall of wires, shouting, "There's the confident fighter I was looking for! Show me what you've got, Pyrrha Nikos!" The two fighters rush head first at one another before finally clashing, Pyrrha trying to stab through Reginald's wires, but instead getting her weapon caught in the hurricane of wires around the boy. He greedily grins at the situation, thinking he has the advantage, but Pyrrha just smiles back as the javelin quickly transforms into its rifle form and she unloads three shots.

Reginald manages to dodge the first two bullets, but gets hit in the shoulder with the third one, to which he loses seven percent of his aura. " _So that was her plan... Get her weapon stuck in my wires and shoot me at point blank range..._ ", Reginald growls in his mind with a stern scowl focused on the red head. His scowl quickly turns back into a grin, causing the girl's confident look to switch to concern as he says, "You're not the only one who set up a trap." He quickly clenches his left hand and wires quickly wrap around Pyrrha's right arm, binding it to her weapon. "Time for a counter attack!", Reginald exclaims as he hurls Pyrrha up into the air and slams her down into the ground back first.

This fractures the ground under her while also causing the girl to lose fifteen percent of her aura in the process. Reginald happily grins over at the girl as she kicks herself off the ground, landing on her feet like a professional, and as he sees this he warns her, saying, "You should really be taking this seriously. If you don't, I might just get bored and obliterate you!"

* * *

As Nora finally manages to get up from her fall, she looks over the arena to see everyone else on her team is already fighting. She lets out a surprised gasp and says, "Everyone else gets a partner but me!? This is so unfair!"

"I guess that makes two of us.", Persi says to her as he drags the head of his axe on the ground, making a metal scraping noise as he walks towards her.

Nora just smiles at him and says, "I've always been a fan of big things! Hopefully you know how to treat a lady. Now, let's dance!" She rushes towards the boy, propelling herself forward with a shot from her hammer as she swings the weapon around her, building up more and more force with each spin. As she comes down on the boy with a mighty downward slam of her hammer, he blocks the attack with a powerful upward slash from his axe. The impact of the two weapons' heads clashing sends a ferocious shockwave through the air, stopping only when it hits the barrier around the arena and stunning the students watching this all unfold.

"They're really going at it down there, huh?", Yang notes as she watches the match, unable to take her eyes away from the battle. " _He's moving much faster than he usually does in our training sessions. I never thought he could be that quick._ ", Yang thinks as she sees Ash perfectly parry Ren's hail of bullets before unleashing a few of his own aura swords and rushing the boy down oncemore.

Ruby gives her sister a quick nod and adds, "Yep, Sapphire's never been the kind of person to hold back, especially in a full on fight like this. And it looks like her team's a lot like her when it comes to that."

"You could say that again. But what's really surprising is how well JNPR is holding out.", Blake replies, impressed by their skill as she continues to watch the fight over reading the open book in her lap. As she says this, Jaune manages to approach Sapphire with his shield up, blocking her Dust blasts before swiping down at her with his sword.

The azure warrior manages to block the attack with the sword in her mouth however, following this by trying to counter attack with her other swords, slashing at him from both sides.

Rolling backwards, Jaune manages to evade the attack somewhat as he just barely gets grazed by the tips of her blades and loses three percent of his aura in the process. "You're definitely getting better, Jaune.", Sapphire complements the boy as he recovers, standing firm on his own two feet with his shield up.

With his shield ready and confidence radiating off of him, Jaune shoots back at the warrior, "Right back at ya."

When she hears this complement, Sapphire's eye begins to glow with her furious blue aura, and after a few seconds she lets out a chuckle before saying, "Looks like things are gonna get interesting."

Jaune just gives the girl a confused look before glancing up at the monitor. His eyes widen when he sees Ren's aura just dropped down to twenty percent, to which he jerks his gaze over to the boy, seeing he's standing exhausted a few feet away from Ash, who doesn't seem to be the least bit effected by the battle. "You fought well, Ren. You almost managed to match my speed, that's commendable.", Ash complements the dark-haired boy, causing Ren to give him a slight smile as he replies with, "I'm not done here yet."

This is all interrupted when they hear Nora exclaim, "REN!", and her fury turns to Persi. She quickly unloads a volley of grenades upon the boy, unleashing Hell on Remnant on the boy.

Through the hellfire, Persi barely manages to dodge her attacks as he approaches her with his axe, ready to cut through her defenses. As he goes to swing at her, she launches another grenade at the ground, creating a smoke screen to cover her presence, but also losing twenty percent of her aura from the point blank blast.

Persi, caught off guard and with the smoke making his eyes water, covers his mouth and violently coughs, thinking, " _What the- Where did she go!?_ " Before he can fan away the smoke, he's met with a swift hammer to the back, which sends him flying across the battlefield and out of the arena, eliminating him.

The buzzer sounds and Glynda announces, "Persi Pumpkin has been eliminated.", as the boy lays on the floor defeated.

Sapphire's eye widens in disbelief and she thinks, " _What!? That..that isn't what I saw!_ ", as she grits her teeth in frustration. She rushes towards Jaune oncemore, thinking, " _I have to even this battle. I can't be pulling any punches, even with him._ "

As the frightening warrior unleashes her swords, quickly slashing at Jaune from all angles, the blonde frantically blocks them while shouting, "Pyrrha! Go back up Ren! Nora, you handle Reginald!"

Pyrrha hears this and quickly retreats from her battle with Reginald as the boy growls, "Hey! Where the hell are you going!?" He goes to chase after her with his wires, but has to pull them back when he sees three grenades coming flying at him. He weaves the wires around, blocking the explosives before they can get close enough to him and he shifts his focus to Nora, who's reloading her grenade launcher. "So you're the one who ruined my fun. How annoying. I guess I'll have to settle for you then.", Reginald grumbles as he looks to the ginger with an irritated glare, to which Nora transforms her launcher into it hammer form and launches herself into battle.

As Pyrrha reinforces Ren, she slashes down at Ash from behind and Ren attacks him as well, slashing at him from the front. Much to their surprise, Ash quickly draws his sword and blocks both of their attacks, blocking Pyrrha's javelin with his sheath while blocking Ren's blades with his sword. " _He..blocked us both!?_ ", Pyrrha thinks, baffled by this before Ash suddenly creates a small blade behind his head and launches it at her. Pyrrha quickly loses five percent of her aura when the blade grazes her face as she retreats back a few feet to make some distance between the two.

"Pyrrha, watch out for his other swords! They appear almost out of nowhere!", Ren warns her as he also retreats, putting some distance between himself and Ash.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Ash quickly tosses his sheath up into the air and as it twirls up in the air, he catches it at the other end and rushes towards Pyrrha at a remarkable speed, catching the girl off guard.

Ren sees this and tries to lay down covering fire for her, but Ash deflects the attacks with his Dragoon, not even looking back to see the path of the bullets yet somehow still managing to block them. When he gets close enough to Pyrrha, he slashes at her and she dodges back at watches as he uses his sheath instead of his sword to attack her.

The redhead quickly moves around Ash before regrouping with Ren and asking, "Any idea how to approach this?"

"None, he's deflected and countered everything I've thrown at him so far. I haven't even been able to land a solid hit on him.", Ren reluctantly replies as Ash observes them from a far.

"Persi was eliminated, so I will have to be certain that I do not let my team down. I will be sure to eliminate you two swiftly.", Ash says as he sheaths his Dragoon and returns to a draw stance.

Ren readies himself before whispering to Pyrrha, "Keep on your toes, this is his fastest stance I've seen so far."

"Now, let's see if you can touch me.", Ash says before his legs glow with his grey aura and he suddenly vanishes.

Pyrrha's quickly confused and she looks around for him before seeing he's already behind them with his sword drawn. " _When did he-_ ", she begins to think before the buzzer cuts her off. Her eyes widen in disbelief as she looks up to the monitor to see Ren's aura is down to one percent!

The boy sheathes his blade as the buzzer sounds and he mutters under his breath, "One target eliminated, moving on to secondary target."

* * *

As Nora sees Ren was eliminated, she starts to growl under her breath, causing Reginald to only laugh at her. "What? Getting angry? Good, show me that emotion!", Reginald happily suggests to her as his wires whirl around her.

She does her best to block them, but they nick and cut her over and over again, dealing five percent of her aura in damage. "If you don't start fighting back, I'll end up slowly whittling you down, Valkyrie! Come on already! Show me that crazy side that eliminated my partner!", Reginald calls out to her, to which she finally snaps.

The ginger raises her hammer up into the air and with a furious battle cry slams it right into the ground, sending herself flying up into the air and helping her escaping his cage of wires. Nora keeps pulling the trigger, causing herself to spin violently through the air as she builds up even more momentum as she falls down at Reginald.

Reginald, though he should be worried, only smile at this and shouts, "Yes! Show me what you can do, Valkyrie!", as he weaves his wires around, creating an impenetrable wall around himself.

The hammer-wielding girl lets out a furious roar as she slams her hammer down with all her might, clashing weapons with Reginald and sending a powerful shockwave through the arena. She only grits her teeth in frustration at the sight of her weapon stopped by Reginald's barrier. "Looks like it wasn't enough, huh!", Reginald gloats before unleashing his wires on her, trying to cut her, but she only pulls the trigger on her weapon again, sending both of them flying back and blowing off ten percent of Reginald's aura.

As she backflips away, she manages to stick her landing as she lands with her hammer resting on her shoulder. "Had enough yet?", Nora confidently asks the boy, but Reginald only lets out a confusing laugh. Suddenly the boy puts his hands together, seeming to pray as he says, "There truly are Gods in this world! If you're listening to me, thank you both very much for this wonderful sight I've seen blessed with today!"

"What are you-", she begins to ask before the boy points at her and says, "I honestly expected better panties, but as my father always said: 'Panties are all equal.'" As Nora hears this, her face turns red with embarrassment and he continues, saying, "But really? Pink? Could you choose a more girly color?"

" **Mister Wolfe!** Though I do have faith that this kind of strategy is very effective on the battlefield, I will not have any of it in my classroom, understand? Talking about a woman's undergarments is simply inappropriate!", Goodwitch shouts his name before scolding the boy, to which he only laughs and says, "Fine, but I'm still saving that one in the spank bank."

Sapphire simply growls under her breath as hears this, saying to herself, "I'll have to have a talk with him later...but for now, I have my hands full." With her mind back on the fight, the azure swordswoman rushes towards Jaune with her semblance activated, seeing every movement he'll make before he can think about making them. " _He's going to-_ ", she begins to think as she observes every movement of his body before finishing, shouting, "There!"

With a swipe from the two swords in her left hand, she manages to knock away his defenses with a well placed combination of Wind and Fire Dust, causing a small explosion that knocks the shield off his arm, leaving him with only his sword to defend himself. "This is checkmate, Jaune!", Sapphire exclaims before unleashing her powerful blades upon the boy. The inexperienced warrior surprises her as he's quick enough to block a few of her aura boosted strikes, but ultimately takes all of his aura in one powerful combination of furious slashes and burns, leaving him with only ten percent of his aura left.

The buzzer quickly sounds and as Goodwitch announces his elimination from the match, Jaune's left baffled, looking up at Sapphire from the ground, thinking, " _So this is the strongest fighter from Signal Academy, the only person to ever beat Pyrrha in a fight... She really is strong._ "

"Now to deal with her.", Sapphire growls to herself as she rushes over to Ash's side to help fight Pyrrha.

Unleashing a full on assault on his enemy, Ash launches wave after wave of his aura blades down on Pyrrha, forcing the warrior to block whichever ones she can't evade as the two fighters circle one another, looking for an opening in the other's defenses. When Pyrrha's aura starts to fail her, Ash finally sees this as the opening he needs and quickly shoots out five more swords before rushing towards the crimson warrior, using his blades as cover for his assault.

Pyrrha slashes down the blades with her javelin, shattering them as the metal blade makes contact with the boy's aura attacks, but she's forced to block with her shield when Ash launches his Dragoon at her, flicking the guard of the sword with enough force to launch the blade at her like a deadly projectile that bounces off of it and flips up into the air. The mummy boy uses this opening to sidestep around the girl and unleash a powerful bash from his sheath onto Pyrrha from behind, taking her aura down ten more percent.

The crimson-haired girl goes to counter attack him, but his Dragoon finally comes down and lands in his open left hand, allowing him to block her attack with his blade as he counters with his sheath. Pyrrha manages to block his sheath with her shield, but is surprised by when she's slashed across the back. She quickly glances back to see Sapphire behind her with her swords twirling in her fingers. " _She's already beaten Jaune!?_ ", Pyrrha thinks in a panic before being cut down to five percent of her aura from a series of slices from the two swordsmen. The buzzer sounds yet again and Glynda announces that Pyrrha is officially eliminated.

As Nora battles against Reginald, he manages to wrap his wires around her, binding her arms and legs together as he suspends her mere inches in the air. She goes to pull her trigger, aiming to fire off a shot to free herself, but she's met with two blades to her throat as Sapphire says, "I don't think so."

Nora gives the threatening leader and her partner a nervous laugh as she looks back and forth between the two. "Welp, I give up.", she admits as she drops her weapon in defeat.

"Nora Valkyrie forfeits, so team SAPR wins the match!", Goodwitch announces and as Reginald releases the girl from his wires, causing her to land on her feet. As they all walk out of the arena, joining their respective teams, Goodwitch announces to the class, "That will be it for the day, class. I was quite impressed by everyone's performance today, especially you Mister Arc. In all honesty, I didn't expect you to make it this far this year, but it would appear I truly underestimated you."

* * *

With classes over, team JNPR and SAPR sit down across from one another as they eat their lunches in the cafeteria. Persi sits down next to his partner with a sigh before looking to his team and saying, "Sorry about that guys. I got careless."

"Don't worry about it. You tried your best and that's all that matters.", Sapphire tells him as she waves her fork at him as she chews her lettuce.

Reginald nods and adds, "It was a dangerous strategy, but a damned good one if you ask me. Who expects you to blow yourself up as a distraction?"

"See? He thinks it was a good idea!", Nora points out as she turns to Ren, who only shakes his head in disapproval.

Ash glances over to Persi and suggests, "You should work on your defense more. You already have an outstanding offense, but it means nothing if you're easily caught off guard and cut down."

As the teens hear this, everyone seems to give him confused looks as the mummy looking boy simply returns to his meditation before Jaune says, "Well, I'm glad that everyone seems to be getting along again. I was worried we'd have drama at the table every day or something."

"Did someone say drama?", Yang asks as she sits down next to Ash, disrupting the boy's concentration as she lazily drops her tray next to his. They all glance over to her and see she's also brought the almost all of her team with her, with the exception of Weiss of course, who join the other teams at the table.

Ash simply returns to his meditation as he asks, "Is Weiss still refusing to speak with Ruby then?", to which Yang lets out an exhausted sigh.

"I don't know what's gotten into her, but she's been even ruder than usual, if that's even possible. Since we went to the Forever Fall, she refuses to talk to any of us. She's really getting on my nerves.", the blonde replies as she stabs into her meatloaf with her fork.

Ruby and Blake sit across from the blonde and to Jaune's left as the girl in red says, "She's refused to interact with us at all for the past few days. She's been sitting across the room from us during all our classes, not coming home after classes, she won't even look at any of the messages that we send her over our scrolls, it's that bad..."

"That's a Schnee for you. They think they're still right even after they've been proven wrong.", Reginald notes before taking a sip of his water to wash down his fries. As he does this, he hears Persi growling under his breath, and when he looks over at his partner, he sees out of the corner of his eyes that Cardin is bullying Velvet again. The brute aggressively tugs on the poor bunny girl's ears, pulling them in separate directions as he looks on with a sadistic smile, though his teammates only look on with worried looks.

"Jaune...", Blake suddenly says as she turns to the boy, causing him to jump slight before turning to her to see what she wants. She gives the blonde leader a worried glance and begs him, saying, "Could you please do something to stop him? At this rate he's going to tear her ears off..."

"I-I can't... I'm sorry.", Jaune replies as he looks away from the dusk colored girl, frowning at his own reflection in his glass, causing the girl to shift her glare to him.

"Why not?", Blake snaps back as her request shifts into a demand and her gentle gaze turns into a stern glare.

Glancing up from his food to the girl, Jaune looks back down at his plate and softly replies with, "It's too soon. This deal that I have with Cardin isn't even a week old and if I start pushing for him to stop hurting people I don't have any relationships with, he'll likely snap and get us both kicked out. I can't do that."

Unable to just standby and do nothing, Persi growls under his breath and fires back with, "Well, we can't just sit here doing nothing!", before going to stand up, but stops as his partner pulls him back down into his seat.

Persi glares over at Reginald, who only gives him a cold glare and says, "You're not thinking straight, Persi. If you go charging in, you'll only get yourself in trouble."

"Then what would you do then? Just sit here and try to look up her skirt?", Persi replies in his rage, but Reginald just chuckles at this.

The thread weaver reaches into his pockets and pulls out a lighter, to which Pyrrha give him a confused glance. "Even though I can easily bet Velvet has a nice pair on right now, that's not what I'm interested in. We need to be a bit more precise with our movements here. We can't risk starting a big fight, but that doesn't mean we just do nothing. I can piss him off a bit, but you better be ready to move when the party starts.", Reginald replies as he pulls a pack of cigarettes from his inner vest pocket.

Pyrrha gives the boy a concerned look before asking, "Cigarettes? You do know those things will kill you just as quick as the Grimm, right?"

Reginald lets out a slight chuckle as he lights himself a cigarette and says, "Well, these aren't exactly your everyday ordinary cigarettes Pyrrha. Let's just say they're my little ace in the hole..." "Boss, are you alright with this?", Reginald questions his leader as he glances over to her, to which she nods and says, "As long as you keep it clean and don't get yourself in too much trouble, do what you must."

With that said, Reginald happily grins as he stands from his seat before winking at his partner and casually walking over to team CRDL's table. When he reaches the team of bullies, the boy takes the cigarette out of his mouth and taps some of the ashes onto Cardin as he mockingly says, "If it isn't Team Chicken! How've ya been? Haven't seen too much of you guys since the Forever Fall trip!"

Cardin glares over at the boy, seeing the irritating boy's grin before getting blinded by a puff of smoke to the face. Cardin quickly reaches out to grab the boy, but Reginald manages to pull back quick enough to avoid his grasp. "You little-", Cardin begins to growl before Reginald cuts him off, saying, "Oh, what is it Cardin? Can't catch little old me so you have to resort to beating on helpless girls? How pathetic~ I guess that Ursa did more than knock your mace off the cliff, it also took your manhood. If you're really this weak, do you honestly think that you have any right to call yourself a huntsman?"

Furious with the boy's mocking, Cardin growls back, "Well if I'm so weak, then what right does someone who refuses to fight have to come to a school built around fighting? You wanna answer that wise guy?"

The tyrant is left surprised when a familiar voice tells him, "More of a right than some racist pig like you!", and when he turns around, he sees Blake and Persi helping Velvet, guiding the Faunus girl over to RWBY's table.

"Where do you think you're taking her?", Cardin growls, furious that he was tricked so easily.

Persi quickly fires back, "As far away from you as possible, ya fucking sadist."

Cardin chuckles at this and shrugs as he says, "Well, who really cares about you filthy Faunus anyways? You're all just a bunch of toys for me to use at my leisure."

"What makes you think you can just do these kinds of things to her!? I'm sick of it!", Yang shouts as she stands up against Cardin and his racism, slamming her fists on the table as she stands from her seat.

They're all surprised when they hear a familiar, cold voice say to them, "Well, it's only natural after all." Yang quickly glares over at the source to see it was Weiss, who just got her lunch and searching for a seat. "Though his behavior is definitely boarish to say the least, the fact that Velvet didn't stand up to him is because it's in her blood. But I guess I shouldn't expect you of all people to know that, Yang.", Weiss explains, causing the blonde to growl in her rage.

Yang quickly gets in the heiress' face, grabbing the girl by her dress shirt and growling, "And what exactly do ya mean by that? Are you calling me stupid or something?"

Weiss isn't phased by this in the slightest however and simply replies, "No, just ignorant. Most of these studies were done in Atlas, so they probably aren't too well known here in Vale. It's simply childish, misguided thought that anyone in their right mind would put Faunus on the same level as humans when it's scientifically proven that they aren't. That's why people like the White Fang devolved into tantrum throwing babies that had to set fires and kill innocent people to get things done. They're nothing more than animals if you ask me."

Yang and Blake are both left speechless when they hear their teammate say this, their eyes widening in shock and disbelief as Persi just growls at the snow-colored girl and takes Velvet to the safety of their friends' table. As Yang tightens her grasp on the pale girl, she shouts, "How could you think that!? We're supposed to help people, no matter who or what they are! And you're just gonna sit there and call them animals!? That's...that's just wrong!"

Weiss quickly shoves Yang away with an aura powered push, breaking the blonde's grip on her shirt and as she adjusts it back to acceptable standards, she scolds the blonde, saying, "I guess you're just another one of those simpletons who just refuse to accept the truth then."

As Ruby speeds out the door, using her semblance to move as quickly as possible, Sapphire finally puts her two cents into the conversation as she stands up from her seat and walks over to the group. As the azure warrior stands in front of the snow-colored princess, she looks down at her and tells the heiress, "If that's how you really feel, Weiss, all I can say is 'wow.' As a member of the Schnee family, you have a lot of influence over those that look up to you, yet you can't even see what's wrong with what you're saying about Faunus as a whole. Honestly, I'm disappointed."

As Weiss hears this, she reels back in slight shock at the unbeatable warrior's comment as her hands begin to tremble a bit, but Cardin takes a step towards Sapphire, saying, "Weiss knows what she's talking about, you one-eyed freak. She's easily one of if not the smartest person in our class, so I don't think you should be talking to her like that. If you keep this up, I might just use you as my next punching bag."

"I'd like to see you try.", Sapphire growls as she glares over at the boy with her fist clenched tight, ready to wail the boy if he so much as blinks at her the wrong way.

Sensing the tension has risen far too high, Jaune quickly moves in between the two leaders and says, "Alright, that's it. Back off Cardin, I mean it."

Cardin just growls at this, clenching his fist as he tells his 'old friend', "You can't protect your little friends forever, Jaune."

"He doesn't have to. Well, at least not while we're still here.", a voice calls out from the cafeteria entrance and when they all look, they see it's Coco, who's brought the rest of her team with her. As they walk into the cafeteria, Ruby walks in behind them, out of breath and gasping for air as she holds onto the doorway for support. "So I heard you were bullying my little bun-bun, Mister Winchester. Now, we can't have that going on now, can we? If you want someone to spar and train against, how about you try your hands against our boy Yatsuhashi here? He's more than interested in having a nice light scuffle with you~", Coco says as she and her team walk over to Cardin, causing the boy only to glare at them in frustration.

Cardin goes to say something but stops when he feels a stern hand on his shoulder, to which he quickly turns to see Russel looking to him before shaking his head no. "Screw you guys, I have money.", Cardin growls before storming off with his team behind him, but the argument doesn't end there.

Weiss lets out a sigh of relief and says, "Finally, that boar left. He's about as temperamental as those dirty Faunus.", much to Coco's confusion.

"The dirty what now?", Coco asks with a confused glance at the girl as she looks over her sunglasses at Weiss.

Weiss claps her hands together happily before saying, "Coco, you're originally from Atlas as well, correct? Then you know about the Faunus studies as well? Tell them I'm not making them up and how they prove Faunus have natural submissive tendencies towards humans."

"Well, I'm from a more southern part of the continent and I lived most of my life here, but I guess that kind of counts. But to answer your question, yeah, I know about the studies, but that doesn't mean I agree with them.", Coco answers her 'little sister,' causing the girl to pout in disappointment.

Reginald chuckles at the girl's expression and adds, "Besides, don't you think that using those studies is kind of cheating? Your family's company did fund them after all. They're full of all kinds of bias and one-sidedness."

"How could you be so openly racist!? We're talking about an entire species here! And you'd just label them as animals because your rigged studies say that because Faunus look like animals, that they're clearly animals!?", Blake exclaims as she moves to fight Weiss and her racist attitude.

As she meets Blake's stern gaze with a scowl, Weiss quickly bites back, "It's science! Have you seen the White Fang? Have you seen what they've done!? They're nothing more than animals that only know how to lie, steal, and kill to get what they want."

"The White Fang are simply a group of misguided Faunus, they don't represent them as a whole.", Blake quickly replies, earning a shocked look from the heiress.

"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of Remnant!", Weiss shoots back, to which Blake quickly replies, "So then they're very misguided! Either way, that doesn't give you the right to call all Faunus filthy, disgusting, or anything else for that matter." "Oh yeah? What about that filthy ape from the boat? That degenerate fleebag was breaking the law and stealing, so would you call that a prime example of your idea of 'Average Faunus,' Blake?", Weiss mockingly questions her teammate, causing the dusk-colored girl to growl with frustration.

"Stop it!", Blake explodes, causing the whole cafeteria to go silent. Blake marches towards Weiss as she growls, "Stop calling him a filthy ape! Stop calling him a degenerate fleebag! He's a PERSON!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you like me to stop referring to the trashcan as a trashcan or this table as a table? That's what he is, Blake, get over it.", Weiss sarcastically replies, only infuriating the Faunus supporter even further.

"Just stop it Weiss!", Persi growls, as he marches towards her.

"What are you going to do, bear your fangs and claws like the animal you are? You'd just be proving me right.", Weiss quickly fires back, causing the boy to take a step back, to which the girl grins. She points to him as she turns to Blake and says, "See? Natural submissive behavior right before our eyes."

"Hardly, that's just Persi showing the last bit of self restraint he has left. But I guess when you have such a big head like yourself, you have to take everything you see as evidence that you're right all the time, huh?", Reginald mocks the thick-headed girl as he drops his burnt out cigarette in Cardin's drink and rejoins the discussion.

"Ooo, I better watch out, huh? He might go berserk and run off to join the White Fang like those other filthy Faunus.", Weiss sarcastically adds, growing sick of Reginald's teasing.

Blake finally snaps when she hears Weiss' childish comment and shouts, "You're such a brat!", before marching off back to their dorm.

As Blake leaves, everyone's left in shock and Weiss chases after her, saying, "Where do you think you're going!? How dare you talk to me, Weiss Schnee, like that!? Come back here you!"

"You're just a judgmental little girl!", Blake shouts back, not even turning around as she continues on her path.

* * *

Their argument continues back and forth throughout the entire school, following the group of teens all the way back to team RWBY's dorm room with members of both RWBY and SAPR chiming in, trying to show Weiss their point, but to no avail. "I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!", Weiss exclaims in her frustration as the sun begins to set and the orange beams of light start to beam in through their open window.

Persi quickly growls to himself before shouting back at her, "That is the problem!"

"You do understand that you all are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? They're a terrorist organization full of thieves and murderers! The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!", Weiss tells them all, to which Ash chimes in for the first time throughout this discussion, saying, "There's no such thing as 'Pure Evil,' only those who see different lights in the darkness."

Blake quickly stands from her bed with her finger pointed at Weiss as she says, "Why do you think the White Fang hates Humanity so much!? It's because of people like Cardin, people like YOU who force the White Fang to such drastic measures!"

"People like me!?", Weiss asks, offended by her statement before Blake fires back, saying, "You're discriminatory!" "I'm a victim!", Weiss shouts back at her, desperately trying to defend herself. The heiress takes a few steps towards the window and looks out towards the now set sun, seeing the starts start to come out as she says, "Do you want to know why I despise the White Fang? Do you want to know why I particularly trust these, these fleebags!?" "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted on its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends who loved to hear me sing disappear, butlers never returning with their warm smiles and kind words, board members who'd always tell me jokes and stories...executed...an entire train car full of dust..stolen. And every day my father would come home more furious than the last, and that made for a VERY difficult childhood.", Weiss admits dramatically as she pounds her fist against the window seal in her rage.

Ruby goes to comfort her with a gently hand on her shoulder, but Weiss slaps it away, shouting, "No!" The princess swiftly marches over to Blake and growls, "Do you want to know why I hate them!? It's because they're nothing to me but a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!", Blake exclaims, catching everyone off guard and leaving them dazed.

Reginald is the first to recover from the shock, only glaring over at the suspicious girl as her eyes widen in horror at what she just admitted to. "We?", the boy questions her as he releases his wires from his gloves. As she sees the boy's glare burning bright with his fury, Blake goes to rush out the door, but Reginald seals it shut with his wires, saying, "So you've been a member of the White Fang this whole time. I should've picked up on that sooner."

Blake frantically looks around at her teammates and as Yang simply mutters, "Blake?", the girl rushes past the blonde, shoving her into Reginald as she seems to speed towards Weiss. Weiss, unarmed as she left her Myrtenaster on her bed, puts up her aura and prepares for the worst, but only gets shoved away as Blake leaps out the open window.

Yang rushes to the window, shouting, "Blake, wait!", as she reaches her hand out for the girl, but can only watch helplessly as her partner rides down the side of a nearby tree to the ground and runs off, not even taking a second to look back at her.

As Blake runs around the side of the Academy, she finds herself at the main courtyard standing in front of a great statue of a team of Huntsmen standing on top of a defeated Grimm. She looks down at a plaque on the statue, which reads, " _Together we stand united as one to fight a common enemy. That is what true strength is._ " As she reads this, tears start to well up in her eyes and she takes out her signature black bow, revealing her black cat ears to the twinkling stars above. The girl holds the ribbon in her hand as she wipes away the tears in her eyes with the other.

To her surprise, a kind voice calls out to her, saying, "I knew you'd look better without the bow.", to which she turns to them and smile.


	20. The Run Away

As Yang helplessly watches as her partner runs off into the night, she quickly clenches her fist as her lavender eyes turn a burning dark red. The blonde quickly whips around and grabs Weiss by her top of her dress before lifting the rich girl off her feet into the air with both hands, the heiress' legs dangling helplessly in the air as she does so and her eyes filling with disbelief. "What the hell's wrong with you!?", Yang shouts as she violently slams the girl into the nearby wall, trying to knock some sense into her, but her light blue aura protects her from the drywall.

"Yang! Calm down! You're going to hurt her!", Sapphire exclaims as she and Ruby try to pry Weiss free from Yang's steel grip as she holds the heiress against the cracked wall.

Weiss, though in a disadvantageous situation, fires back, "What's wrong with me!? Are you really going to defend her after what she just admitted to!? She's a member of the WHITE FANG! She's the enemy!"

"She's our team-mate! Stop treating her like she's a criminal!", Yang growls as her grip only tightens on the girl.

Furious at the blonde for her ignorance, Weiss bites back, shouting, "Are you really that ignorant or are you just stupid!? She admitted to everyone in this room she's a member of the White Fang! They're a terrorist organization, Yang! TERRORISTS! They ARE criminals!"

"If she was really in the White Fang, she would've killed your ass a long time ago, Princess! She wouldn't have been dumb enough to say something like that if she was trying to assassinate you!", Yang fires back, her eyes still burning with rage.

Reginald puts a finger to his chin and mutters to himself, "Maybe she was trying to get closer to the Schnee family? Maybe eliminate them all at once?"

Ash only shakes his head no at this however, countering the silver boy's claim as he says, "Doubtful, such an attempt on a high profile person would more than likely fail. Especially if they have as much security as the Schnee family is said to have."

Weiss quickly adds, "What do you mean 'doubtful?' It already happened! One of my uncles was assassinated by his wife's favorite servant."

"You mean slaves.", Persi quickly corrects her, with a slight glare aimed at the heiress.

The ice queen only glares back at the Faunus before replying with, "No, servants, they're paid a healthy, livable wage. In my opinion, they're paid far more than they should, considering our past relations with their kind."

"Their kind? You see, this is why people hate you! This is why you piss so many people off! You're such a fucking thick headed, ignorant little bitch!", Yang exclaims as she goes to slam Weiss back into the wall, but Sapphire and Ruby finally manage to pry the girl free from Yang's grip just in time to save her.

As Ruby pulls Weiss away from the rampaging blonde, Yang lunges for the Schnee again, but Sapphire manages to hold her back, holding her friend by her waist as she tugs with all her might to keep her from going any further.

"I knew you were a filthy Faunus lover, but I didn't take you for a criminal too, Yang. Sympathizing with her is just as good as letting her escape and return to her little friends in the White Fang to plot my death. We have to tell the Headmaster about this!", Weiss retorts as she moves for the door.

As Sapphire struggles to hold the enraged Yang back, Yang fires back, "Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you? For everyone to just get down on their knees and praise you for finding one of those 'filthy Faunus' you go on about! In the end people only see them like that because people like you forced them into this life!"

"I didn't force them to do anything! They chose to be criminals! They chose to steal! They chose to kill people! I didn't do any of that!", Weiss fires back as she grabs her Myrtenaster.

Persi glares at her blade before asking, "And what do you plan on doing with that? Just gonna report her to the Headmaster then hunt her down like a dog?"

"You just stay out of this! I don't need one of your kind messing with my affairs.", Weiss coldly replies as she heads for the door. She's stopped however as Ruby grabs her hand and pulls her back into the middle of the room. Weiss quickly slaps the little red girl's hand away before exclaiming, "Unhand me, you dunce!"

"Weiss, we need to at least hear Blake's side of the story.", Ruby begs, but Weiss isn't having any of that.

The icy girl quickly turns away and heads for the door, but Reginald stops her as he says, "How exactly are you planning on getting a meeting with the Headmaster?"

"Excuse me?", the heiress growls, taking offense from his comment.

The boy simply chuckles to himself before opening his scroll to reveal how late it is. "It's past eleven, so the Headmaster already left his office for the night. So there's no possible way for you to go meet him without breaking curfew and knocking on his front door.", Reginald mockingly notes as he closes his scroll and returns it to his pocket, causing the girl to growl in frustration.

Weiss turns her back to him with a huff before saying, "I didn't expect you of all people to be a Faunus lover too, Reginald, considering your position."

"I never said anything of the sort.", Reginald coldly replies, earning a confused look from everyone in the room as Weiss' eyes are left with confusion clouding them.

Reginald crosses his arms and in a surprisingly serious tone tells them all, "If there's a chance that the White Fang are here in Vale and they've infiltrated Beacon's defenses, the school could be in serious danger. Not to mention the possibility of her having allies disguised as other students. This could be very dangerous. We'll have to report this to the Headmaster in the morning as soon as his office opens up."

A smile comes across the white-haired girl's face as her confidence returns and she fixes her posture to be more dominate. "Finally, someone with a little common sense. With your position in the STG and my family name, I'm certain that even Headmaster Ozpin will have to listen to us.", Weiss confidently notes before placing her rapier on her bed. Tired and ready for bed, Weiss undoes her ponytail as she heads into the bathroom and says, "I think I'll take a shower now, don't bug me." As her long hair falls down the length of her back, she slams the door behind her, only causing Yang to growl even more.

* * *

Sapphire finally lets go of Yang as her eyes finally turn back to their natural lilac and she seems to calm down. "Morning huh?", Yang mutters to herself as she catches her breath, earning a raised eyebrow from the other girls.

"Yang, what are you-", Ruby begins to ask before Yang starts marching to the front door as she says, "If that's all the time I have, then I have to start looking for her right now!"

As she goes for the door, much to her surprise, Ash blocks her path with his sheathed Dragoon. "Ash, move! I have to-", she begins to say as she reaches out to grab him, but he quickly knocks her hand away with his sheath as he draws his sword on her. She suddenly finds herself pinned against the wall with the boy's blade to her throat as everyone moves to stop him.

"Your movements are sluggish, your eyes are hazy, and overall...you're useless as you are now. For all the time we've practiced together, you should've been able to react on instinct to that slower draw and easily parried it, but you barely even saw it coming in time to put up your aura. If you go out now looking for her, you'll only be wasting your time.", Ash bluntly explains to the blonde as he holds his blade against her throat. The swordsman quickly pulls his blade back before sheathing it away, causing the blonde to only growl in both rage and frustration.

"Then what would you do!? Just sit here and meditate!?", Yang growls back at the boy, but Ash isn't phased in the slightest.

"Based on her fighting style and how she moves, Blake is a well trained individual, White Fang or not. She likely knows exactly how to hide her trail if she needs to, so going in such a poor condition when your visibility is already limited is only foolish. Besides, I doubt growing up on Patch helped you learn how to track prey too well.", Ash continues as he walks away from the girl, only infuriating her further. He opens the door to the kitchen and says, "For now, get some rest. We'll move out in the morning. Tomorrow should be Saturday, so we won't have to deal with classes, and we'll be able to leave immediately before Weiss can meet with the Headmaster."

"We?", Yang mutters as she looks up at the boy with a confused glance, to which Ash looks back at her and replies with, "Of course, I have plenty of training with tracking prey from my training back home. I couldn't just let you go out there wandering endlessly until you found her, could I?"

Yang's rage quickly changes to a slight smile as she hears this and as he goes to take his leave, she says, "Thanks Ash.", to which he replies, "Don't worry, that's what friends do, correct? Or at least, that's what I've been told."

"Yeah, I'll contact team CFVY in the morning too! We'll go out and find her one way or another!", Persi quickly replies as they begin to formulate a plan.

Yang quickly nods in response before jumping up to her feet and adding, "Yeah, with Fox's heightened senses and Velvet's adorableness, there's no way we can miss any information on where Blake went."

Sapphire lets out a slight chuckle before noting, "Well, that was a thing." She turns her attention over to Ruby, who seems to be drowning in worry. "Ruby, are you...alright?", Sapphire quietly asks her, to which the child nods.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just worried, but we'll deal with that tomorrow, right? We need to rest up so we can go bring Blake back.", Ruby quickly replies as she walks over to her dresser to get her night clothes. Sapphire nods and mutters to herself, "I just hope she's okay."

* * *

As the final airship of the night lands at the Vale docking station and its doors open, Blake and Sun walk out into the empty city. Blake, with her bow back on her head, starts walking off without Sun at first, to which the boy rushes to catch up to her, desperately shouting, "Hey! Wait up!"

When the monkey boy finally catches up to her, Blake only tells him, "I don't know who you are, but I'd like it if you stopped following me."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. Guess I got a little caught up in the fact that you're a-", the boy begins to say before a stern glare from Blake shuts him up. He nervously smiles to her and finishes, correcting his path and saying, "-you're such a fun loving person! My name's Sun, Sun Wukong."

Blake ignores his gesture and simply keeps walking, much to his dismay. Sun, however, isn't willing to give up so easily and tries to keep the conversation going, asking, "So, what's your name?"

"None of your business.", Blake sternly replies as she keeps walking away, trying to leave him behind like she did her team.

Sun seems slightly hurt by this as he reels back with a hand over his heart, but keeps trying to break down Blake's walls as he says, "Come on, could you at least tell me why you're running away?"

This causes Blake to stop dead in her tracks, letting the boy catch up before bluntly telling him, "I just need to leave, okay? Now can I just have a moment to think in silence, please?", to which Sun doesn't seem to have a response.

Sun, sensing the severity of the situation, complies and finally shuts up for a few minutes for Blake to get her bearings. This doesn't last long, however, as the two are approached by a figure from the shadows, who quickly grabs a hold of Blake. The person wraps their arms around the girl, enveloping them in their tight grasp as they nearly squeezing the very life out of the cat girl.

"W-who are-", Blake begins to ask in a panic before hearing a familiar voice tell her, "It's a pleasure to meet you again, friend Blake." "P-Penny!? What are you-", Blake begins to ask her as the young ginger continues to squeeze the very life out of her.

"You know her?", Sun asks the redhead, to which Penny nods.

"Blake Belladonna: Age: Seventeen; Gender: Female; Height: Approximately five feet six inches; Three Measureme-", Penny begins to list off before Blake cuts her off by nervously shouting, "Penny, please!"

Penny, not sure what she did wrong at first, quickly realizes what she almost did before releasing her grasp on the hidden Faunus and saying, "My apologies, I just got carried away. I've been wanting to see you all again so badly, but I haven't been able to contact any of you."

"It's alright, but what exactly are you doing out so late at night?", Blake replies with a confused look on her face.

Penny quickly snaps her fingers and explains herself, saying, "Well, after helping your teams clean up the streets of Vale, I realized how good I was at it. I've been helping clean up these streets ever since, it's actually quite relaxing."

"I see, well it was nice seeing you again, Penny.", Blake quickly replies before trying to walk off, but Penny grabs the girl's wrist, stopping her.

"Where are your friends, Blake? It's always more fun when Ruby and the others are involved! We can have another girl's night out.", Penny gleefully tells the cat girl, to which Sun adds, "Hey, I'm right over here." Penny quickly turns to him and shews him away, saying, "Sorry, Girl's Night is only for girls. You'd have to sit this one out."

Blake pulls her hand free of the ginger's cold grasp as she sternly replies, "They're not here. Now I have to go.", before starting to walk off alone with Sun quickly following after her.

As the cat girl walks off, Penny waves her off as she says, "Don't be a stranger! If you ever want to do the hanging out, just call me." With both Blake and Sun far beyond her range of sight, a light-bulb lights up in Penny's head and she says to herself, "Wait a minute, I didn't give them my scroll number! How can they even contact me without that!?"

* * *

As Sun desperately tries to follow after Blake, he finally catches her in front of a local store. The sign above the front door says 'Tukson's Book Trades,' but the sign on the door says closed. "Blake, what are we-", the blonde boy begins to ask her before the girl slowly knocks on the door twice, quickly followed by three quick taps to the door's glass window from the back of her knuckles.

There's an awkward pause before someone peeks through the door's blinds to see who's at their door, their yellow eyes seeming to glow as they look at Sun and Blake. The person's eyes widen when they see Blake and they quickly leave the blinds before the two of them start hearing the sound of multiple locks being unlocked from behind the door. The door swings open and a tall looking man with oddly cut sideburns stands before them. "Blake! What are you doing here!? Weren't you attending Beacon? Did something happen? Did Adam-", the man frantically begins to question the girl before Blake wraps her arms around him, burying her face in his chest, trying to hide her pain. The man quickly sticks his head out through the doorway, looking for any sign of the two being followed before grabbing Sun and pulling him inside, locking the door once more after slamming it shut.

"I messed up, Tukson! I really messed up! My team hates me now!", Blake admits as she hides her face from the man.

The man lets out a heavy sigh before saying, "You'll be fine. Stop worrying. It can't be that bad.", with a slight smile on his face.

"They know.", the nervous girl quickly replies, causing the man's smile to shift to shock.

"About your involvement in this!? How much?", Tukson asks as he peels the girl off from around his waist.

Blake wipes away her tears before saying, "T-they don't know everything, but they know I was part of the White Fang."

"You were part of the White Fang!?", Sun frantically shouts, to which Tukson glares at him.

The man shifts his gaze back over to Blake and asks, "So where'd you find this guy?"

"I didn't find him, he wouldn't stop following me.", Blake timidly replies, causing Tukson to nod in response.

He turns his attention back to Sun and explains, saying, "Yes, Blake and I both were members of the White Fang, though I got out of the business much sooner than she did. But that was a long time ago, when the White Fang meant something. Now they're more interested in killing humans than helping them see that we are their equals. That's why I'm helping people like her, people like us, who've seen the true darkness in the White Fang escape it and move on to normal lives."

"So you run basically an underground railroad for Faunus trying to leave the White Fang?", Sun asks Tukson, to which the man nods. Sun quickly smiles to this and exclaims, "Hell yeah! That's awesome!"

Tukson smiles back to the boy and happily says, "I'm glad someone thinks so.", before walking over to a nearby couch. He pulls a small box out from under it as he says, "You two are free to stay here for as long as you need to. I have a few guest bedrooms downstairs that I use for Faunus who're traveling between lives, so feel free to use the beds if you need 'em." He tosses the box over to Sun, who catches it and when he opens it, he sees its full of blankets.

Blake smiles at this and tells him, "Thanks, Tukson. You're a life saver.", to which the man replies, "I try to be."

* * *

As morning finally arrives, Yang equips her Ember Celica and asks, "Are you ready to go, Ash?", to which the mummy boy nods as he stands in the open doorway. "Good, let's get going.", the blonde replies as she picks up her scroll from Blake's bunk.

"We're already at the docking bay. We'll see you there.", Velvet voice calls out from her scroll.

Yang smiles at the sound of the rabbit girl's voice before replying with, "Thanks Velv. Glad to see someone's willing to help." The blonde takes a moment to glare at Weiss, who only turns her nose up in response. Yang growls under her breath before shouting, "We're leaving, are ya coming or not!?"

"We'll be there, just go on without us. We have to..figure some stuff out first.", Sapphire sternly replies as she looks over at Reginald and Weiss with a concerned, yet annoyed glare.

Yang just rolls her eyes at the azure warrior before walking out with Ash as she says, "Fine, just don't waste too much time, okay? We'll see you at the docking bay!"

As the busty blonde shuts the door behind her, Weiss lets out a huff before saying, "Can you believe the nerve of that ruffian? To treat me so poorly last night and think I'll just go out and help her find that killer, how idiotic."

"Weiss, please! She's our teammate! The least we can do is let her explain herself!", Ruby begs the heiress as she looks over to Weiss, but she doesn't seem to care.

Weiss turns away from the other girls and asks, "What's there to explain? That she's a traitorous, murderous Faunus that was planning on killing me in my sleep!?"

"You can't just assume that she was going to kill you because she's a Faunus, even if she's involved with the White Fang.", Sapphire quickly refutes, but Reginald only shakes his head in disapproval.

"It doesn't matter if she was really planning on killing her or not, she's related some way to the White Fang and infiltrated our ranks. We have no clue what she could be planning, for all we know she could very well be a spy sent by the White Fang to blow up the school or something. We have to report this to the Headmaster. This goes beyond us! This could threaten the lives of countless people, not just us!", Reginald quickly fires back as he heads for the door. As he glances back at Weiss, he tells her, "His office hours say he won't be there until around noon, but we don't know if he has any meetings or not today, so we'll have to camp out the door to his office until he shows up. I'll see you there."

As Reginald leaves the room, heading to the Headmaster's office at the top of the school, Ruby and Sapphire both focus their attentions on Weiss. The girl notices their staring and asks, "What? Do you two really think you can just change my mind on this sort of thing?"

Sapphire only rolls her eyes at the girl's smug attitude, but Ruby walks up to her and extends her hand out to her. "Weiss, please, we can still fix this. If we work together, we can become a really great team, I know it. All we have to-", Ruby begins to say before Weiss interrupts her by saying, "What 'we' are you talking about? I never wanted to be a part of this team, and once Reginald and I are done talking with Headmaster Ozpin, Blake will shipped off to prison where she belongs."

Weiss confidently makes her way over to the exit and as she goes to leave, she turns back to Ruby and says, "By the end of the night there won't be a team RWBY. It'll just be you and your ignorant sister." The heiress takes her leave, closing the door behind her, leaving Ruby and Sapphire alone.

"Hey, Ruby, we have to go too. Yang and the others are waiting on us.", Sapphire tells her as she places a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.

Ruby lets out a single sniffle before turning to Sapphire and forcing herself to fight through her pain to say, "Yeah, we have to go. Don't wanna keep them waiting."


	21. Cat & Mouse

It's early in the morning and Blake is putting on a black apron as she stands behind Tukson's cash register. "Are you guys sure about this? You don't have to do this, you know. I'm used to working on my own in this place.", Tukson says as he looks to his guests.

The two nod to the man before Blake replies with, "Of course, it's the least we can do since you've taken us in. We'll do our best to help around the store."

This causes the man to smile lightly before muttering, "Very well, I guess I'll have to put you two to good use then." Tukson points over to the book shelves and tells Blake, "You'll be working on organization of our fantasy books and novels. It's been a while since I've dealt with those since barely anyone reads them anymore. Just organize them the best you can, preferably in alphabetic order." Blake nods in response before the shop owner turns his attention to Sun, who nervously smiles back at him. "As for you, my boy, I'll be having you help me with moving some things downstairs. I just got a few new shipments of some upcoming books and a few best sellers, so I need to make sure everything is properly added to my inventory. You won't have to do more than move a few boxes around, you can handle that, right?", Tukson explains as Sun nods, listening carefully to what the man wants him to do.

The ripped blonde gives the man a thumb up as he cheerfully shoots back with, "No problem! When it comes to muscle, I have more than my fair share!"

"Yeah, probably too much. Do your muscles have muscles?", Blake jokingly remarks, earning a slight laugh from the two other Faunus.

"Hey, I like to think I have just the right amount of muscle, thank you very much. It's not like my abs have abs or anything.", Sun replies, to which Tukson adds, "But it wouldn't kill you to button up your shirt for once, kid." Sun looks to him with, taking full offense from the small comment, before defiantly exclaiming, "Nobody, and I mean NOBODY locks away my babies!"

This causes the cat girl to let out a light giggle before walking over to the front door and saying, "Well, isn't it about time we open?"

Tukson nods and happily replies with, "Yeah, let's all get to work. Once we close up for, we'll have a nice dinner together, my treat."

The group gets to work with Sun and Tukson heading downstairs and Blake unlocking the door and turning around the closed sign so it says they're open. Through the day, Blake does a great job as Tukson's cashier and librarian, tidying up the books as he requested and selling book after book to the customers that flowed into the store. Eventually, as she was reorganizing the fantasy novels, as Tukson requested she do, she overheard a group of Faunus talking to one another.

"Hey, did you guys think that dude was serious? Do you think we could really make that much money just doing one job?", the young dog Faunus asks his friends with a curious look.

His friend, a mouse Faunus, looks to him with a frightened look and asks, "Are you serious!? There's no way we'll be able to get out of that thing alive!"

The cat Faunus next to him quickly covers the mouse's mouth before shushing him and whispering, "Can you not be so damn loud? They weren't exactly offering us the most legal of jobs, you know."

"T-they weren't? What do you mean, Jasper?", the dog asks, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head as his bulldog ears seem to perk up.

The cat Faunus lets out a hushed groan as he tiredly rubs his face before going on to explain, "You idiots, they were offering us a one-time job to help steal Dust. That's what the 'sparkles' that damned bat was talking about are. We'd either be arrested or hunted down by the White Fang for helping frame them."

"H-hunted down...?", the mouse nervously asks as he shivers in fear.

Jasper slaps the mouse upside the back of his head before telling him, "Hush up Jinx, what are ya, a man or a- Wait a minute."

Jasper lets out a slight chuckle at Jinx's expense, causing the mouse Faunus to let out a sarcastic laugh before replying with, "Real funny, Jasper. Reeeeeal funny."

"It wasn't just funny, it was hilarious. Now let's just get Spike's dumb book and get out'a here.", Jasper retorts as he walks over to the counter.

The bulldog quickly grabs the fuzzy Faunus by his shirt and growls back, "It's not some dumb book, it's a mint condition copy of Gordan's Home Recipes! It's a limited edition!"

Blake finally intervenes with an awkward cough, which gains the boys' attentions. "If you two are ready, I can get your book.", Blake suggests as the three boys all look to her with love-filled eyes.

As the three start to bicker back and forth between one another over who gets to talk to her first, Blake rolls her eyes and walks behind the counter to retrieve the book in question. "No, it's my book and I'm gonna talk to her!", Spike growls as he pokes Jasper's chest.

Jasper only chuckles at him before shooting back with, "Ya don't have a chance in hell with her and you knows it."

"More of a chance than some brick-for-brains like you!", Spike scolds Jasper, infuriating the cat into a hiss.

As the two get in one another's faces, growling and hissing at each other, Jinx quickly breaks up their petty squabble. He puts himself in between the two Faunus and pushes them apart as Blake looks on, unamused. "Guy, guys, guys! We shouldn't be fighting over something like this. She's just a random girl.", Jinx suggests as he looks from Jasper to Spike.

The two look to one another before nodding in agreement, Spike saying, "Yeah, I guess I got a bit ahead of myself there. Sorry bout that."

"Eh, don't mention it. Guess I deserved it after makin fun of ya and your book, eh?", Jasper replies with a slight chuckle.

Jinx lets out a slight laugh as well before striking a cunning pose and saying, "We all know she'd be more interested in a kinder, cuter person like yours truly here anyways. You two brutes are just far too rough."

His two friends quickly turn on him, Jasper pulling his weaponized baseball bat and Spike pulling out his frying pan weapon, as Jasper asks, "What was that, Jinx?"

"Yeah, I couldn't hear that over the sound of us beating some sense into ya.", Spike threatens, causing the mouse to gulp loudly.

Their interaction is instantly halted as they hear the sound of the cash register as it rings up something with a loud beep.

They look up to see Blake with Spike's book, causing the Faunus' dog ears to shoot straight up on sight. "I found your book, would you like a bag with that?", Blake asks the boy in her usual monotone voice, causing the boys to look at her with disappointed glances. Spike shakes his head no before reluctantly taking the book from her, causing her to emotionlessly say, "Thank you for coming to Tukson's Book Shop, please come again."

The three Faunus make their leave, grumbling to one another before finally exiting the store. Blake lets out a sigh of relief as the group finally gives her some time to think without having to deal with some random nonsense. She thinks back on what Jasper mentioned about the White Fang and thinks, " _Someone's trying to use the White Fang's name to get away with these robberies? Why?_ " Not truly sure of the answer, Blake just shrugs before returning to her duties.

* * *

Back at Beacon Academy, Reginald and Weiss are standing in front of Ozpin's desk as the Headmaster looks at them with a tired glance. "And that's all we have to report, Headmaster. As you can clearly see, Blake is not only a Faunus, but one that has ties to the White Fang. I suggest that we organize a team of Huntsmen and Huntresses to track her down and interrogate her. Perhaps we can even get some information on her terrorist friends in the organization.", Weiss suggests as she crosses her arms confidently and looks to Ozpin with a triumphant smirk.

As the old man pours himself his first cup of coffee for the day, he lets out a long yawn before replying with, "Yes, I've been watching both your teams rather closely after your little...incidents. You've all gotten on Professor Goodwitch's naughty list I must say, causing as much trouble as you do." After he finishes pouring his drink, he pauses to take a long sip from his favorite mug with a loud slurp, stopping only to say, "I'm actually quite disappointed with how both teams have turned out."

This shocks both of them and Weiss quickly bites back, saying, "Well, maybe if SOMEONE didn't make the leader of my team a child we might actually be a competent team?"

Ozpin gives them a sly grin at this claim and continues on, saying, "Miss Rose obtained her position as team leader from her results in the Emerald Forest. Though she's still quite childish, she's starting to show signs of becoming quite the leader, though there's a bit of a thorn in her side impeding that. A small, arrogant, white thorn."

Weiss is taken back by his suggestion and as she growls in her fury, he turns his attention to Reginald and says, "And before you go on about how Sapphire 'isn't worth listening to,' I'd suggest you remember she's been able to best even the strongest Grimm I've managed to relocate into the Emerald Forest along with winning the Junior Remnicient. She's beyond skilled in both combat and leadership, but a cocky huntsman in training thinks just because he has a title in some organization he's leagues better and deserves to be showered in praise and attention. You should focus less on yourself and more on your team, boy."

"Stop dodging the topic at hand!", Reginald shouts as he slams his fist down on the Headmaster's wooden desk, shaking everything on the table.

Ozpin glances up at the boy as he gently places his mug on his desk and cups his hands in front of his face, listening intently to what the boy has to say. "We just told you that there's a White Fang SPY on the loose and she could planning Gods know what for the school, and you're sitting here belittling us about our lack of team bonding bullshit!? Are you trying to get us all killed or something!?", Reginald exclaims, earning a stern glare from the Headmaster.

The Headmaster quickly slams his hands down on the desk as he rises up from his chair, towering over the boy as he explains, "You shouldn't assume that you're telling me information I was unaware of, Mister Wolfe. I've been aware of Miss Belladonna's former involvement with the White Fang since the minute she stepped foot in this city, and I'll have you know that I've personally looked into every student before they even come close to Beacon's doors. If I ever thought any one of my students was a possible threat to the protection of Humanity or Faunus as a whole, I would never let them step even a foot through that door." With his eyes burning with an intimidating glare, Ozpin stands straight and looks down upon them as he asks, "Do you two still believe that I made a mistake?"

The two seem to back down as he says, this, Reginald even seeming to relax his hand as he begins to understand what Ozpin means. Weiss, however, quickly steps back up to challenge the Headmaster, saying, "Of course you're making a mistake! She's a kid! She hasn't done anything to earn her place here in Beacon! She hasn't studied as hard as I have, she hasn't trained as long as I have, she isn't even close to being as good as I am, but you're still choosing to keep her as the leader instead of me! This is a MISTAKE!"

Ozpin raises an eyebrow at this and gently lifts his coffee mug up from his desk before turning around to look out through grand window behind him at the city below. "Perhaps I did make a mistake after all, Miss Schnee.", Ozpin suggests before taking a long sip from his mug.

Her confidence suddenly skyrockets through the roof as he says this before crashing back down to Remnant when he says, "Perhaps I made the foolish mistake of letting someone like yourself into my school? Letting someone with such arrogant, hotsie behavior into my Academy when she can barely go one day without throwing a hissie fit and complaining. Perhaps that was the mistake I made? I don't like leaving behind mistakes, Miss Schnee. Do I make myself clear?"

The heiress takes a quick step back, terrified by his claim before he glares back at her and says, "Perhaps you two should take some time to think about what it means to be on a team, especially when you aren't the one in command of everyone else? It would do you both some good. You are dismissed."

With that, the two students leave the Headmaster's office, leaving Ozpin all alone, or so they think.

Out from the shadows, Glynda walks out and asks the wise man, "Are you certain you handled that appropriately, Ozpin? If you instill fear into the children, it could lure Grimm here."

"I believe this is the only way to get through to them at this point. Giving them an ultimatum is the only option left if we want to keep them enrolled at this academy.", Ozpin calmly replies as he retakes his seat behind his desk and places his mug down on it.

The calculated Professor looks to the door then asks him, "Are you certain that they'll meet your expectations, sir?", which causes the Headmaster to let off a slight grin.

"I'm certain. With their combined force, Team RWBY and Team SAPR could be two of the best teams we've seen here at Beacon Academy.", Ozpin suggests, to which Glynda raises an eyebrow.

The well-aged blonde lets out a light chuckle before suggesting, "Perhaps they'll one day reach Team STRQ's level?"

The silver-haired fox looks up to his aid with a confident smile across his face before correcting her, saying, "No, Glynda, they won't just reach their level, they'll surpass Team STRQ in every way. I know it."

Seeing the confidence on his face, a slight smirk overcomes Glynda's usually stern persona as she mutters, "Maybe they will, one day."

* * *

Off in Vale, Ruby and Sapphire are searching desperately for Blake in every possible location they can think she might go. They scour every book store in sight, check every possible dark alley in sight, and even go to a manga cafe where Blake used to buy her favorite smut and tea from.

"Well, she wasn't there either. At least we got away from those guys.", Sapphire begrudgingly notes as the two girls awkwardly step out of the cafe.

Ruby, slightly scared by the cafe, frantically asks, "W-what was that book? Was that guy wearing a maid outfit? And why did he ask you to step on him!? I'm so confused!"

"Ruby.", Sapphire calls out to the girl, reeling her back into reality with a few snaps of her finger. The red-hooded girl looks over to her and Sapphire tells her, "We've been looking all day, and we haven't seen the slightest sign of Blake. Maybe we should call the others and see what they've found?"

Ruby quickly agrees to the plan before pulling out her scroll and calling Yang and Velvet. "Yang? Velvet? Are you guys there?", the red-haired girl nervously asks as the call seems to go through.

"Yeah, what is it, Ruby?", Yang growls back to her sister over the scroll, causing the girl to slightly flinch in response.

"Persi and I are here too, Ruby. Did you find her or something?", Velvet replies over the scroll in her usual gentle tone.

Sapphire lets out a low groan and Ruby explains, saying, "We've been all over our sector and there isn't any sign of Blake. Please tell me you guys have had better luck than we did."

"No sign of her here on our end either.", Persi replies as he sniffs the air. "I'm not exactly a bloodhound, but I got a pretty good sense of smell and I still can't seem to find any trace of Blake around here.", Persi explains, causing Ruby to sadly slouch.

"What about you and Ash, Yang? Any signs of her in your sector?", Sapphire questions the blonde, who seems to be fuming over something.

"He went off somewhere, saying he needed to scout something out and told me to wait here. I don't know what he's doing!", Yang growls as she impatiently waits for Ash to return.

Sapphire gives her a quick nod and says, "I believe in Ash, he knows what he's doing. He probably thinks that if he finds Blake and she sees you two, she'll probably run again."

"You do stand out a bit, sis.", Ruby nervously adds before hearing Ash say to Yang, "She walked through here a while ago, not recently, but perhaps last night."

"Great! Do you know where she might've went then?", Yang frantically asks, causing Sapphire and Ruby to look at each other then back to the scroll.

"Possibly, but I can't say for certain that she's still there. I can sense her aura, but only somewhat. I don't have it memorized, so I can only guess that since it's close to her aura it might be her.", the boy in rags explains, to which Yang happily nods.

"Alright, then we'll go there. I'll talk to you guys later. K, bye.", Yang quickly replies as she goes to hang up.

Ruby desperately tries to call out to her before she hangs up, but the blonde ignores her sister's pleas and hangs up her scroll, leaving the call. "Well, at least we know they've got a lead, right?", Velvet sheepishly notes, trying to look at the bright side and Ruby seems to agree.

"Yeah, if Ash found something, that means they can find her, right? Then there really is a chance.", Ruby optimistically notes as a slight smile comes across the young huntress' face.

A familiar voice comes through her scroll, lovingly calling out to her as it says, "That's my little Rosie~", causing Ruby's cheeks to turn a light pink.

"C-Coco..?", Ruby nervously questions as the brunette's face pops up on her screen, just now joining the call.

The fashionista seems to be sitting at a cafe as a waiter brings her a cup of coffee. "Hey, how's it goin'? Oh, you're even with Sapphire right now, that's perfect~ That means I can kill two birds with one stone!", Coco notes as she picks up her cup of coffee, taking a slight sip of it to test the heat and taste. "How about you two lovely ladies come have a drink with me? I'm buying~ We can talk about all kinds of thing: our nails, cute boys, our teammates who suddenly ran off into the night.", Coco offers as she holds out her hand to the girls.

Ruby nervously turns to Sapphire, who shakes her head no, before turning back to Coco and saying, "Sorry, Coco, but we're still trying to find Blake. Rain check?"

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh? I get it, I get it. You don't want to hang out with your big sister Coco anymore. That really hurts my feelings, you know. I just wanted to relax with my little sisters and talk, but now they're rejecting me! This world is just so cruel!", Coco dramatically exclaims as she begins to tear up.

"D-don't cry! We're coming, we're coming! We'll be right there, Coco, I swear!", Ruby nervously exclaims as she grabs Sapphire by the wrist and pulls her along.

Coco's crocodile tears suddenly dry up when she hears this and she happily replies with, "That's great, here's my location. I'll see ya in a bit. And don't keep me waiting, Rosie~", before hanging up with a wink.

"Ruby, you do know she was faking, right?", Persi bluntly asks the little red girl, to which Ruby lets out a heavy sigh.

The red-hooded girl reluctantly nods to the Faunus and answers, saying, "Yeah, but I can't stand seeing her cry like that, even if I know it's fake. I just want to see everyone happy!"

"Since we're going off to do this and Ash and Yang are the only ones with a lead, you two should head back to the Academy for the evening. I doubt we'll be able to find anything else out at this rate.", Sapphire adds as Ruby pulls her along with her semblance, speeding through the street like the red blur she is.

"Alright, we'll see ya later then.", Persi replies before Velvet waves them off and says, "Have fun!" The bunny suddenly hangs up and Ruby and Sapphire are left alone as the red-hooded girl tugs the warrior along with her.

* * *

After speeding down alley after alley, street after street, Ruby finally comes to a stop right in front of the cafe Coco asked them to go to, causing Sapphire to spin around, all senses cut off from the unbelievable speed she had to go through as Ruby rushed through the city to meet up with Coco. "Never. Again.", Sapphire growls at the tiny girl as she places a hand on the nearby brick wall to regain her composure.

They're both surprised when they hear Coco chuckle and say, "You two got here quicker than I expected? Did you take the express train?"

"You could say that.", Sapphire bluntly replies before gagging a bit, just now feeling the effects of the motion sickness.

The fashionista holds out a strawberry milkshake to Ruby in one hand and a blue slushie in the other to Sapphire. "Here, got you guys some drinks like I promised.", Coco notes as she hands them their drinks. Ruby happily takes her shake as Sapphire regains her composure and takes her slushie.

"So you wanted to talk about Blake?", Sapphire asks her big sister as she takes the last of the white wrapper off of the top of her straw.

Coco nods to the two first years and says, "Yeah, but let's go for a walk. I think I've had enough of this place for one day." As she starts walking off, Ruby and Sapphire quickly follow right behind her, enjoying their drinks on the way. "I heard that Blake let a bit of information slip before she ran away.", Coco casually remarks as they walk along the sidewalk together, glancing back at Ruby to see the poor girl ever so slightly tense up.

Ruby stops drinking her drink and quickly adds, "Blake's still a good person, Coco. I know it! She's not like them!"

Coco just snickers to herself before replying with, "Oh Rosie, don't worry, I was just checking to see if she actually ran away for a good reason or if Weiss just pushed her too far. I have nothing but the utmost faith in Blake."

"Y-You do?", Ruby questions the brunette in complete shock as Sapphire raises an eyebrow at her, both girls expecting a more hostile and protective nature from the fashionista.

Coco just nods to the girls and replies with, "Velvet and I spent plenty of time with Blake, Velvet did more than I did though. We're both certain that she's not any threat, if anything she's running from the White Fang."

"Running from the White Fang?", Sapphire asks as she gives Coco a confused glance before adding, "What would she be running away from them for?"

Coco only shrugs and tells her, "Who knows? That'd be a question you'd have to ask her yourself. My guess, she did something to piss 'em off and now they're after her. But we have a more pressing issue than the run away cutie." Before they can ask what she's talking about, Coco points to Sapphire and Ruby and tells them, "You've both been looking so down for the past two weeks! It's depressing! Now, tell your Big Sis what's wrong, or I'll have to force it out of you~"

Sapphire lets out a begrudging groan and reluctantly explains, saying, "It's just kinda hard, you know? I've been trying my best to improve my team like Professor Goodwitch wanted, but nobody really listens to me. Sure, Ash listens pretty well, but Persi and Reginald just take my orders as _suggestions_. If they feel like it, they just switch off to their own plans and do as they please. It feels like I have a gun, but I can't pull the trigger. I can only aim it and hope it goes off when I want it to."

Coco simply nods before going on to ask Ruby, "I see, and what about you, Rosie? What's wrong with your team?"

Ruby lets out a sharp laugh before asking, "What isn't wrong with my team?" The crimson leader goes on, saying, "Before she ran away, Blake was barely opening up to me, which was nice, but she still didn't open up about herself too much, only books and old stories. Yang is always going off on her own doing her own thing and she **never** takes me seriously. She only seems to see me as her little sister and not her team leader. And Weiss, oh Weiss, what isn't wrong with Weiss? She never listens to me, she refuses to cooperate with others unless they're doing what SHE tells them to, she's always yelling about us not studying enough or wasting time on our games when we could be training, and she never EVER admits she's wrong **EVER**! And those are just the big things. I didn't even bring up the constant insults and degradation."

"Sounds like you two have some big hurdles to get over, but don't worry, every team starts off a little rocky. Just look at my team, we sucked when we first started.", Coco tells the two younger leaders, trying to lighten the mood.

Ruby scoffs at her claim and suggests, "That's impossible, you guys are like one of the top three teams in your class. You guys must have started with some chemistry."

"Nope, we technically weren't even supposed to be on the same team. If anything, we were a bunch of misfit toys thrown together to make a team.", Coco quickly corrects the girl with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

Sapphire raises an eyebrow at this and asks, "Really? It doesn't look like it. How'd that happen?"

The fashionista finally come to a stop at a bench near the docks as Coco glides her hand along the railing until it reaches a bend in it. A light yet warm smile comes across her face as she looks down at the bend before taking a seat on the nearby bench and patting the seats next to her as she says, "Come on, sit down. It's story time." The two girls do as she asks and Ruby sits to her right as Sapphire sits to her left. "You know, this is where we had our first fight, my team that is.", Coco notes as she looks out to the river in front of them. She seems lost in thought for a moment before closing her eyes and smiling happily to herself. "We were real trouble makers back then. Fox and I lost our partners in the introduction ceremony, so we didn't really have a team until Velvet got kicked off of her team and Yatsuhashi transferred to Beacon from Haven.", Coco continues with her story as she recalls their first fight, Coco shoving Fox as he gets in her face with a cocky grin. "I was more of a loose cannon back then and Fox was nothing if not a showoff. Back then, we'd constantly be arguing with each other over everything just to argue. Yatsuhashi was a lone wolf kind of guy, so he didn't really communicate with us other than telling us to stay out of his way. And Velvet didn't even know how to fight, Fox had a field day with that one. None of our fighting styles worked off of one another and we were quickly labeled the laughing-stocks of Beacon Academy.", Coco explains as she turns her gaze up to the sky.

Sapphire is beyond baffled by this and so is Ruby, and the young girl quickly asks, "B-but how did you get through it? You had to do something to fix it all, right?", to which Coco nods.

The older sister turns to Ruby and tells her, "We grew up."

"You...grew up?", the confused girl in crimson questions as she tilts her head, which Coco nods once again to.

Coco returns her gaze back up to the clouds before explaining, "We didn't exactly get older, but more like we stopped acting so selfish. It was actually Velvet, believe it or not, who helped pull us out of our slump. She finally told us that if we didn't grow up and improve our teamwork and overall team grades, we'd flunk out of Beacon and go back to being nobodies. Nobody wanted that and from that point onward, we worked not only for our own reasons, but to help each other and work as a cohesive unit. It wasn't easy at first, not by a long shot, but we got through it. We helped Velvet unlock her semblance and even worked on a design for her weapon to help her use it effectively. We would train every day after classes, studying as we fought each other to let out our pent-up anger and frustration. Eventually, by the end of the semester, we were one of the top ten teams in our class. Even Goodwitch was impressed."

"So you all just grew to accept one another for who you were and started working towards being the best team you could be?", Sapphire asks, but Coco is reluctant to answer.

"To say we grew to accept one another isn't exactly right. Do I still want to hit Fox upside his dumb head when he says one of his stupid puns? Yeah, I do. Do I wanna shake Yatsuhashi like a ragdoll when he's having one of his quiet spells? Every day. Do I want to pick on Velvet whenever she's being all shy and timid? That's just a given. We don't exactly accept each other, but we tolerate one another. I don't like some of their habits, but I deal with them and they deal with me. Sometimes you just have to work around one another. Not every piece of a puzzle is gonna fit every other piece perfectly. Sure, there are pieces that'll fit nice and perfect with one another, but those are few and far between. In the real world, you have to deal with people no matter how you feel about them.", Coco explains to her adopted sisters as she looks to the girls with a stern gaze.

Sapphire nods in response, but Ruby questions her, asking, "Hooow exactly does this help us find Blake?"

"Oh, it doesn't.", Coco quickly retorts, causing the girls to slump in disappointment. "Trust me, Blake will be fine. Velvet and I know for a fact she's pretty smart and once she's cooled down a bit, she'll come back to the home you all have helped build for her. Blake's in a pretty bad place in her life right now if I had to guess, so she'd naturally gravitate to the people she feels a bond with.", Coco confidently explains to the girls, hoping for more of a reaction this time from the girls, but gets nothing.

"Coco, none of that really applies here. She ran away from us in the beginning, so why would she want to run back to us?", Sapphire questions and Coco begins to tremble as she searches for an answer in her brain.

Finally, the fashionista runs out of energy and slouches on the bench, exhausted, as she says, "You're right. It doesn't." The brunette lets out a heavy sigh as she adds, "I know none of that really applies, but I'm trying my best here. I even planned out this entire conversation about telling you guys about my team and how we got better, hoping that it'd inspire you all to do better. This is all my fault regardless. We got roped into this Big Brother program because I wasted last year's dance budget on new clothes for me and my team, and my dad refuses to pay the bill, so I'm stuck doing this until I graduate."

With Coco completely exhausted from her attempts to help, Sapphire and Ruby just look to each other with confused looks before shrugging. They each throw one of Coco's arms over their shoulder as Sapphire suggests, "How about we get you back to your dorm, Coco?"

"Yeah, you look like you've had a really long day. Let's get you home.", Ruby adds as they start carrying their 'Big Sister' back to Beacon as the sun begins to set.

* * *

As the sun begins to go down for the evening, Tukson calls out to Blake from the basement, shouting, "Blake! It should be time to close! You know how to lock the door, right?"

"Yeah, I think so! Did you want me to do anything else after I lock it?", Blake quickly calls back down the stairs as she stands in the doorway, taking her eyes off of the main room for a minute to look down at Tukson as he stands at the bottom of the stairway.

The man shakes his head no and shouts, "Nope, just lock up and come down here. I'll have you and Sun move the last of these boxes while I count down the drawers and deal with the safe."

The cat librarian quickly nods her head in response before starting for the door, taking off her bow to let her cat ears breath. But when she goes to lock the door, she sees she requires the keys to lock most of the locks, to which she returns to the register to retrieve them, grabbing the lanyard of keys out from under the desk from their hook. The Faunus quickly sifts through the set of keys, looking for the first one, and much to her surprise, the door opens behind her. Blake quickly drops the keys to cover her ears with her hands as she nervously tells the customer, "Sorry, but we're closed for the night. You'll need to leave."

Her yellow eyes widen in complete disbelief as she hears a familiar voice tell her, "Aw, but I've been looking all day for you, Blake."

Blake whips around to see Yang and Ash standing there in the doorway. "Y-Yang? What are you-", Blake begins to ask as she uncovers her ears, revealing their fluffiness to her partner.

Yang, seeing the ears for the first time, gives her partner a kind smile and says, "I knew you'd look better without the bow.", causing Blake's insecurity to suddenly melt as a slight smile comes across her face.


	22. Cat's Out of the Bag

As Yang shuts her scroll, she looks over to her partner, who's still fixated on her with a nervous look in her yellow eyes. "Don't worry, I didn't tell them where we are, just that you're safe and we're together.", Yang gently explains to Blake as she tries to get the girl to relax, which seems to work.

Blake's stressed and nervous behavior seems to die down as her shoulders relax and she lets out a sigh of relief. The Faunus glances back up at Yang and asks, "So...how long did you know?"

"About your ears? A while. Actually, I noticed them all the way back when we were in the Emerald Forest. Thought your bow twitching every now and then was a bit odd, but the cat ears explain it. Not to mention your love for tuna. I didn't want to pry since you were clearly trying to keep them under wraps, so I stayed quiet. If you eventually felt like telling us about it, I'd have been okay with that, and if you didn't, I'd 've been okay with that too.", Yang explains as she puts a supporting hand on the girl's shoulder, causing a slight smile to come across Blake's face.

Their conversation is quickly halted when they hear someone let out a loud, attention-grabbing cough. The three huntsmen look over to see Sun standing in the doorway before asking, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your... _teammate_?", saying the last part as he fixes his hair dramatically.

"Sun, we're kind of in the middle of something here.", Blake growls as she glares over at the monkey boy, causing him to wave his hands defensively in front of himself.

"Calm down, calm down, I'm just messin' around. So, what's going on up here?", Sun asks before noticing Ash standing there. The two make eye contact, the linen-wrapped boy's cold gaze shooting a cold chill up the monkey boy's spine, causing him to suddenly growing pale with his tail sticking straight out.

"Sun? Are you...alright?", Blake asks the boy with a somewhat worried look as she takes a step towards him to investigate.

Sun suddenly snaps out of his shock before frantically replying with, "Well, I better get back downstairs! Tukson REALLY needs my help down there. Nice meeting you all! Bye!", and taking off downstairs like a speeding bullet.

" _Wonder what's wrong with him..._ ", Yang thinks as she glances over to see Blake's irritated scowl. "That a friend of yours?", Yang cheekily asks her partner, causing the dusk-colored girl to let out a loud groan.

"More like a lost dog that won't stop following me. He followed me all the way here and refused to leave.", Blake explains as she rubs her temples gently, trying to get rid of her now growing headache.

Much to the girls' surprise, Ash speaks up and comments, saying, "You seem to have a habit of doing that, Blake." The girls look over to the boy as he continues, saying, "You seem to avoid people as much as possible, either pushing them away or running away yourself. Are you afraid they'll betray you or something?"

"It's...it's complicated.", Blake nervously replies as she goes to put her bow back on. Before she can bring the ribbon to her ears, Blake stops herself and takes a deep breath, calming herself slightly as she looks back to her partner. "It has a lot to do with my time growing up in the White Fang...and why I chose to leave...", the cat girl, still somewhat nervous, explains as she walks over to the door and locks its various locks with the keys in her hand.

Yang raises her hands up, waving them dismissively as she tells her, "You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to Blake. If it's something you don't want to remember, I'm okay with leaving it all in the past."

This causes her monochrome partner to give her a slight smile before replying with, "It's alright, I think I just need to let it all out now. I've been keeping this all bottled up for so long, it's been really getting to me I guess." Once the door is properly locked, the fluffy-eared girl walks over to the resting area of the store where there are two chairs and a couch, and she takes a seat on the arm of one of the chairs. "Like I said, I grew up in the White Fang. You could almost say I was born into the organization. But back then, things were far different than how they are now. In the ashes of war, we were meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between the Humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, we were subjected to discrimination and hatred. We were nothing more than second rate citizens to them. So the White Fang rose up as a voice of the people, and I was there. I was at the front of every rally, I took part in every boycott, and I actually thought we were making a difference, but I was just a youthful optimist...a fool. Then, five years ago, our original leader stepped down and a new leader took his place, a new leader with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were replaced with organized attacks, we were setting fires to shops that refused to serve our kind, and hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. The worst part was, it was working! We were being treated as equals, but not out of respect but out of fear. Before I left the White Fang, the leader that led us down this path died, killed by a huntsman while out on a vital mission for the White Fang against the Schnee Dust Company. This led to the current leader's rise to the position and the organization's hatred for humanity to rise even further. Suddenly, our objective wasn't for equality, but for revenge. Revenge against those who discriminated against our kind, revenge for our high leader's death, and revenge against all Humans for their crimes against us. Everything...everything changed... So I left. I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their bloodthirsty crimes. Instead, I'd dedicate my life to becoming a huntress, and here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view! All with the help of a little, black bow...", Blake vividly explains her story as Ash and Yang take their seats to listen to her tale, listening closely to every detail of her past.

Yang looks to her with a focused stare before asking, "But why?"

"Why what?", Blake replies with a confused gaze, and the blonde's stare flares up into a full glare.

"Why didn't you tell any of us? Why didn't you tell me!? We could've helped you, I could've helped you! All you would've had to do was ask!", Yang growls, a burning passion igniting the girl's spirit as she tries desperately to help her friend and her lavender eyes turn to a burning shade of crimson.

A slight frown comes across the pale girl's face as she looks down at the ribbon in her hand, gently rubbing it with her thumb as she says, "It's not like I wanted to hide this all for so long... It's just... I've been burnt before." Blake turns her focus back to Yang, and she continues on, saying, "Back in the White Fang, I had a partner. We knew each other for all our lives really. We were...close...but I didn't notice it until it was too late. As the White Fang's focus twisted, so did his. He wasn't the same person I grew up with, not anymore. He became something else, a monster. When I came here to Beacon, I only ever encountered lone Hunters and Huntresses, so I never expected Hunters to work in groups, so I thought that was how I'd be working, all alone. I didn't realized it until the initiation ceremony that I'd be stuck with someone for four whole years, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to reach out to you...to tell you everything, but I couldn't. Every instinct I had burned into my body told me not to, to keep myself from getting attached to you because I'd probably have to run away again if you or anyone else found out what I really was."

Yang stands up and walks over to her partner before enveloping her in a warm embrace, squeezing Blake hard enough that she squeals a bit. As the blonde lets go of her, Blake can see a smile on Yang's face as the blonde tells her, "It doesn't matter what or who you are, we're friends, Blake. And when you're friends with me, you're friends for life, no matter how far you run away from me. The distance between us doesn't matter, it's that bond, the bond between the two of us that really matters. And no matter how far away we are, that bond won't break, never." Yang seems to think about this for a moment before a slight frown comes across her face, the blonde seeming lost in thought for a second before looking over to Ash with a smile and saying, "And I bet Ash feels the same way, right Ash?"

Ash gives a quick nod in response before adding, "It doesn't matter what lies in your past or what you are, what truly matters is what's in your heart. If what you hold in your heart is pure, then you have nothing to fear."

A warm smile comes across the saddened cat girl's face before she suggests, "Now, how about we make some tea? I'm a bit thirst after all that."

Yang and Ash both nod to her and the trio heads out into the kitchen to get something to drink.

* * *

Back in Beacon, it's getting dark as the shattered moon begins to rise up from the horizon. Ruby and Sapphire are going back to their dorms after taking Coco back to her dorm room. As the two are walking by the Amphitheater, they both get a quick ping on their scrolls and when they look, they see it's a message from Yang.

"They're alright, that's a relief.", Ruby notes as she reads the message from her sister.

Sapphire nods to the little redhead before putting her own scroll away and saying, "At least we know they're safe. We'll probably see them tomorrow."

"Ah, so they found her, huh?", a familiar voice asks from out of nowhere, causing Ruby to jump as Sapphire just glares at the source of the voice.

Reginald walks out from around the corner of the entrance to the arena, and Sapphire just nods to him, saying, "Yeah, Ash and Yang found her. They're going to be spending the night with her before trying to bring her home."

To their surprise, a slight smile comes across his face as he hears this and he says, "That's good. I won't lie though, I'm a bit jealous of that mummy boy. Getting to spend the night with two beauties, and I thought I was the lucky one."

Sapphire and Reginald seem to glare at one another for a moment before Sapphire asks, "What do you want, Reginald?"

"Me? I'm just curious where my teammate might be, that's all. Would you mind telling me?", Reginald sarcastically answers as he takes a step towards the two leaders.

"Yang didn't say anything about-", Ruby begins to answer before Sapphire gives her a sharp glare, causing the little red girl to stop mid sentence and let out a sudden yelp.

"Ruby, you just head back to your dorm, alright?", Sapphire tells her, causing the young girl to look up to her friend with a worried glance. Sapphire glances down at her with a slight smirk before saying, "I think it's about time I have a nice long 'talk' with my teammate here."

Ruby nods and leaves, heading for the dorms as Reginald and Sapphire glare at one another. Sapphire glances over to the entrance to the Amphitheater and crosses her arms before walking inside.

"Where do you think you're going?", Reginald growls as he follows her inside.

She doesn't even look back at him as she sternly replies with, "We're going to 'talk.' But considering you don't really like to listen to anyone, talking like normal people won't work. Instead, we'll have to talk through our weapons." As she enters the arena, she stands on one side with her arms crossed, glaring over at the boy as she waits patiently for him to enter the arena.

"So you really think you can take me? That's pretty bold of you, ya know.", Reginald gloats as he enters the arena, tightening his gloves as he gives them a good tug. He unleashes his wires as Sapphire draws a single blade from her belt.

* * *

"Just using one? I'm hurt!", Reginald sarcastically notes as he stands across from her, waiting for the battle to begin.

"On the count of three. One.", Sapphire begins as she takes her stance, ready to battle.

Reginald only smirks at this before continuing the countdown, shouting, "Two!"

As the two warriors shout, "THREE!", in unison, Sapphire rushes towards the boy at a remarkable rate. Reginald isn't phased by this, however, and quickly whirls his wires around to create a small barrier around himself, protecting him from any physical attack she might attempt. To his surprise, she activates the wind Dust in her Azure Drake, causing blades of wind to fly through his wires, falling apart as they hit his threaded barrier before reforming into smaller blades of destruction. Reginald manages to dodge most of them, but a few of the blades manage to scrape his aura, causing him to happily smirk to himself.

The wire-weaver quickly unleashes his wires in a gleeful rage, whirling them wildly across the arena in order to catch her off guard from the multiple angles he could attack from. Her left eye suddenly glows with a bright blue light as she manages to block every attack from every angle, even managing to defend herself from his attacks from her blind spot as she draws another one of her Azure Drakes and blocks the well-planned strike.

" _She's a persistent one, isn't she? I guess that's the #1 ranked fighter in our class you._ ", Reginald thinks as he tries every angle he can imagine to catch the girl off guard, but she manages to block every attack as she slowly closes the distance between them. As she blocks another one of his wires, she throws her right blade at the ground, about halfway between her and Reginald, before it starts to glow with a black energy.

" _Gravity Dust?_ ", Reginald thinks in a panic as he's quickly pulled in by the blade's ominous black aura. Sapphire's also pulled towards the blade, and as she goes flying towards him, she places her sword in her mouth and draws two more swords, entering her three swords stance as she prepares to go on the offensive. As she goes to cut her opponent down, he pulls all of his wires back and uses them along with a portion of his aura to stop her overwhelming strength, forming a thick wall of wires to slow down her three blades while protecting himself from the rest of the attack's force with his silver aura.

The sheer force of the collision causes Reginald to go flying back a couple feet as he reels his wires back in, getting ready to block any oncoming attack she might unleash. The Azure Warrior quickly pulls up her sword from the ground as she draws her final sword, entering her final stance, her five swords stance. With two swords in each hand, one sword between her index fingers and her middle fingers and the other in between her middle fingers and her ring fingers, and the fifth one in her mouth, she triggers all five of their Dust cylinders, causing them all to ignite with burning flames.

Reginald counters with a stone barrier to block her out, but she simply slices through it with her four blades, lashing out at him with the blade in her mouth. The boy takes a couple steps back as he does his best to parry her attacks, but they only get stronger and quicker as she continues to force the boy back, slashing wildly and unrelentingly at the him.

In a split second, he sees an opening in her unwavering attacks, underneath her as she focuses her sights on him with her unending attacks, and sends a single threat through, aiming to catch her off guard with the hard-to-see wire. He places the wire near her feet, aiming to trip her while she approached him, but she jumps over the wire without any hesitation.

Reginald's eyes widen in horror as he thinks, " _I-impossible! Nobody can see my threads so easily! How did she know my trap was there!?_ " The boy quickly surrounds himself with his wires as he forms a spherical barrier to protect himself from every angle, but Sapphire sees through this and tosses two of her extra swords, one from each hand, at him. Much to his surprise, she feeds them perfectly in between his wires to almost reach his chest, but he's able to stop them in time before they can do so by using most of his wires to wrap around the dangerous blades until they came to a stop. But before he can counter, he's met with three quick slashes.

The furious weaver manages to see her after-image with her legs glowing with her blue aura as she moves past him and he thinks, " _No way, she's this quick too!?_ "

As the flames die down from her blades, the cylinders on her three blades rotate until coming to a stop on her ice Dust. She quickly slashes the air, sending a wave of icicles flying towards the boy, forcing him to dodge out of the way of the attack. This causes him to drop her Azure Drakes in order to use his wires to defend himself, allowing her to recover her blades as she rushes him down oncemore.

With barely a second to think, he sends his wires out to catch her approach, but Sapphire pushes them aside with walls of ice that she makes as she slashes at the ground. This works out perfectly for him as he ignites his wires with fire Dust, causing the ice to melt into a large puddle on the ground. Reginald quickly leaps up into the air, balancing on a thin wire to make it look as if he's floating in mid air, before changing the element of Dust to lightning Dust. This sends a powerful current through the water, and almost shocks Sapphire, but she stabs one of her Azure Drakes into the ground, and as its earth Dust causes the blade to turn to stone, she lands on top of it to avoid Reginald's well-planned attack.

"She dodged that one too! This is ridiculous!", Reginald growls under his breath, to which Sapphire chuckles.

"What? Giving up already?", Sapphire taunts the boy before leaping up to the wire he's balancing on with her eye still glowing with a blue flame. To his surprise, she balances on the wire perfectly, as if experienced in such an awkward form of combat situation.

"Not even close! Let's see how well you keep up in my domain!", Reginald quickly replies before unleashing the full power of his wires, attacking her from literally every possible direction. Instead of blocking however, she evades the attacks as she rushes Reginald down, bobbing and weaving between the wires she can while cutting through the ones that deny her access, pushing them aside to form a path with her swords glowing with what little Dust she still has left in her cylinders.

Reginald, completely caught off guard by this, doesn't seem to hesitate and clashes with the girl, head-on, wires lashing out against her powerful blades. As the two glare each other down, he notices the glowing light around her eye, causing him to finally put it together. "That's your semblance!", he exclaims before the girl knocks away his wires and slashes him with her four remaining swords, depleting him to 15% of his aura as he falls to the ground with a thud.

As she finally runs out of Dust, her Azure Drakes stop glowing and she sheathes them in their proper sheathes as she says, "Game over."

* * *

"It's over, you've lost.", Sapphire explains as her eye reverts back to its normal state. To her surprise, she only hears Reginald cackling to himself before busting out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

The comical boy sits up and places his hand over his eyes as he laughs to himself and says, "You could read every move I was gonna make before I even thought of them myself. What a pain."

His leader jumps down to his side as Reginald reels in his wires before pulling up her final sword out of the ground and returning it to its sheath like the others. "So you figured me out? That's my Semblace, future sight. It takes a lot of my aura to keep up for long periods of time, and using it repeatedly at first was beyond draining, but now I can use it about ten times in quick succession or hold it for over two minutes before having to let my aura rest.", Sapphire explains as she walks over to the defeated boy, seeming to tower over him as he looks up at her with a slight glare.

To his surprise, she reaches a hand out to him, and he seems to only glare at her for a moment before a smirk suddenly comes across his face. He reaches out his hand, uncovering his still shame-covered face as he says, "I guess you win this round, _Boss_."

As Sapphire hears him calling her 'Boss' in a non-sarcastic tone for the first time, a confident smile comes across her face. "Alright, then let's get going. We have a party to get to.", Sapphire tells him as she pulls the boy up to his feet.

"A party? What the hell for?", Reginald questions her as he dusts the dirt off of his pants and vest.

Sapphire turns away from him and heads for the exit as she explains, saying, "Jaune invited us to a party for his team and friends. He wanted to make sure we all had a good time before the end of the year. Are you not coming?"

Reginald just chuckles to himself and says, "I guess I have to, don't want to hurt the poor guy's feelings. And maybe I'll get to see that Pyrrha in a little less armor for once~" As Reginald says this, he's put into a trace at the thought of Pyrrha's curvy body in a pair of yellow short-shorts and a red tanktop with her long red hair flowing elegantly down her back, drool starting to run down his face at the mental image in his head.

Before he can save the image into his mind forever, Sapphire slaps the boy over the back of his head to bring him back to reality. "Could you stop daydreaming and move already? We don't have all night, you know.", Sapphire growls and Reginald just smirks before saying, "Come on, that was a good one too. Why do you have to be such a buzzkill?"

* * *

As Ruby walks up the stairs to the third floor of her dorm, she stops at the last couple steps to catch her breath. She huffs and puffs, trying desperately to get air into her tiny lungs as she mutters to herself, "Curse these tiny legs! Who the heck broke the elevator anyways! I can't handle walking all these steps until the end of the semester!"

As she goes to finish her trek up the stairs, she stops when she hears Weiss desperately call out, "Pyrrha please, just listen!"

Ruby peeks around the corner to see Weiss talking to Pyrrha as the warrior stands in front of her team's room.

"Why should I? Your line of thinking yesterday was nothing if not disrespectful to the title of Huntress. If anything you should be shunned for what you've done.", Pyrrha scolds her as the amazon gives the heiress a cold glare over her shoulders, reaching for the door to her room as she does so.

"Pyrrha, please...I just...I need someone to talk to.", Weiss begs, her eyes seeming somewhat defeated as she looks up to Pyrrha for help.

Noticing this, Pyrrha's harsh glare melts into a concerned glance as she thinks, " _I've never seen her like this... I wonder what happened._ " "Fine, I guess I can spare a moment. But don't take my kindness as forgiveness.", Pyrrha softly replies as she takes Weiss' hand and drags her towards the stairs.

Ruby quickly darts down the stairs to hide before Pyrrha gets close enough to see her. The crimson ninja hears the sound of the two girls rushing up the steps and sneaks up after them. "Since when did Pyrrha and Weiss become close enough for Weiss to reach out to her like that? What's going on?", Ruby asks herself as she reaches a door to the roof. Cracking the open door just a bit so she can see, Ruby starts gets a small taste of what's going on out on the roof.

"Now what did you want to talk about so badly?", Pyrrha asks in a kind, concerned tone as she looks over to Weiss.

Weiss turns away from her with her arms crossed and says, "I'm just...I'm confused."

"Confused? Confused about what?", Pyrrha questions the stumped girl with a raised eyebrow.

Weiss quickly whirls around and exclaims, "Everything!", before starting to pace around the roof in a perfect circle. "Back in Atlas, people would always look up to me. They would do anything I told them, listen to anything I wanted them to, and never ever disobeyed a direct order. The only people who didn't were members of my own family, and I left to rid myself of them. But now...everything's so different... Now, nobody listens to me, nobody respects me or my skills, and even the Headmaster is looking down on me and calling me a mistake. I feel beyond anxious and like I'm being suffocated under a pillow! It's just one thing stacking on top of another!", Weiss finally admits as her formation starts to break, her perfect circle becoming sloppy and unorderly as she tries to find the right words to describe these bizarre feelings she's been having.

"I see...", Pyrrha awkwardly replies as seems to glance over at the doorway, seeing an odd shimmer of red as they talk.

"You're the only one I feel that really knows what I'm feeling. You're Mistral's own version of Celebrity Royalty. You had to at one point or another go through this problem, right? How did you get through this?", Weiss mentions as she approaches the red-haired girl, desperate for an answer to her problems.

Pyrrha seems to focus on Weiss for a moment before asking, "So now that you're at Beacon, nobody is treating you how you should be treated? They don't notice your 'incredible skills' and 'raw talent,' like your family would? And now that everything's just piling up on top of you, almost smothering you in stress and anxiety?" Weiss quickly nods to this, which Pyrrha sighs at, saying, "I guess I can somewhat relate to what you're going through. I did go through a phase like that myself once, before I came here to Beacon."

"It was a few years ago, I had just won my second Mistral regional tournament and I was beyond full of myself. Fans would come up to me in waves just to have the chance of having me breath on them. I thought nothing of those below me, seeing them only as a way to increase my fame and promote my title as the Invincible Girl of Mistral. But that all changed at the Junior Remnicient.", Pyrrha explains and Weiss nods in response.

"That was when you encountered Sapphire Cobolt for the first time, correct?", Weiss asks, to which Pyrrha nods in response.

Looking away from Weiss, Pyrrha begrudgingly admits, "It was the first time they held such an even for the junior league, so I never anticipated such a challenge. I made it through my first match with ease, but the Grand Finals was where I finally lost my title." "It was a tough match, the two of us trading blow after blow before she finally came out on top, beating me and becoming the first Junior Remnicient champion.", Pyrrha continues as she clenches her fist, remembering every hit and slash she threw Sapphire's way. The emerald-eyed girl turns to Weiss with a focused glare and explains, "After that day, I was fuming with rage and hate. I thought there was no way I could've lost, not to some random girl from some off-the-map patch of dirt... And that's when the accident happened..."

"Accident?", Weiss nervously asks with a concerned look as a disheartened look comes across Pyrrha's face.

Pyrrha gives the snow white girl a single nod and goes on, saying, "Yes, though I had a generally good grasp of how to use my semblance, I could easily lose control of it when my emotions ran high, which led to...that day..." After a moment of hesitation, Pyrrha lets out a heavy sigh before telling Weiss, "On that day, I lashed out with my semblance and caused a massive car accident... A few people managed to walk away from the incident, but not everybody..."

Weiss takes a step back and Pyrrha just looks off into the distance, regret seeming to pour off the girl. "Nobody seemed to know what actually happened and the police blamed it all on a faulty wire in one of the traffic lights, but I knew the truth. I caused that accident, and no matter how much I wanted to reach out to the families that lost their loved ones that day, my agent refused to let me. He told me it would only cause people to ask questions!", Pyrrha continues before turning to Weiss with a twisted in sorrow and remorse, recalling the day in vivid detail.

The crimson gladiator takes a few quick steps towards Weiss as she growls, "Those weren't just some nameless people who I hurt that day! They were people, with lives, and families! They were children who asked when daddy or mommy was coming home! They were people, and I was scum because I thought they were nothing more than some playthings that could be thrown away at a moment's notice!", as tears start to well up in her eyes.

Wiping away the salty tears nearly blinding her vision, Pyrrha looks to the heiress with a slight frown as she says, "I'd advise you not to make the same mistake I did and look at everyone as an equal, be they Human or Faunus, it doesn't really matter. They're people and they deserve to be treating as such. And if you want to fix this mess you've made yourself between you and your teammates, you'll have to humble yourself as much as possible. It doesn't matter how skilled or great you really are, nobody wants to work with someone who's pompous and ungrateful."

As the renowned warrior starts to take her leave, she calls out to Weiss, suggesting, "Perhaps the first step to humbling yourself is learning how to admit you were wrong and apologizing." With a motion of her hand, the steel door swings open, revealing Ruby's presence as she falls out onto the roof.

Weiss seems furious with the hooded eavesdropper at first, glaring at the young girl before noticing Pyrrha's equally stern glare focused on her in turn. Pyrrha gives Ruby a helping hand, pulling the girl to her feet as she says, "I'm going back to my dorm now. Jaune's throwing a party to celebrate the time we've all spent together. You two should swing by when you're done. Ren's making pancakes, and they're really good~"

After giving her offering to the duo, Pyrrha gives Ruby a kind smile before leaving to return to her dorm.

This leaves the two partners alone on the roof together and Ruby awkwardly tells her, "We need to talk."


	23. Light the Torch

Inside of a barely lit warehouse, Roman Torchwich lights himself a cigar and after taking a puff from the cancer stick, he glances over his shoulder and asks, "Do I need to explain it any further to you animals, or do you actually understand the plan now?"

"So we can steal whatever we want from the docks as long as we make sure we get you this container, and on top of that we get paid for getting you back in one piece? This seems too good to be true.", one of the Faunus notes as he puts on a White Fang mask, all while his dog tail wags with excitement.

Roman just shakes his head at the boy and growls back, "It not gonna be easy, Fido. There are going to be guards, guards that we'll have to neutralize with the nerve gas I so graciously provided. One huff of this stuff and they'll be out in a second, won't even know what happened to 'em.", as he puts the cane up to the Faunus' chin. As he pulls the deadly instrument away from the Faunus' jowl, he hears a cackle slowly approach him from behind, turning around to see a tall Faunus dressed as a White Fang lieutenant, holding a Ursa mask in his right hand as he smiles menacingly down at Roman.

"So we can have as much fun as we want and plunder to our hearts' content, and you're even paying us to boot. Ai, this has to be the best job I've had in months.", the Faunus notes as he bears his fangs as his smile widens.

"Just remember who's in charge here, Foxy. I just want them knocked out, not dead. I might be a criminal, but I'm no killer.", Roman shoots back as he points his cane at the wolf Faunus.

The Faunus only grins at this before mocking Roman, saying, "Aren't you soft? Fine, since it's part of the contract, I'll try to keep my hook clean, but if they come at me, well, I'll just be defending myself~"

As the master thief pulls his cane away from the big bad wolf, he growls under his breath, "Damn dirty mutt, tryna' ruin my plans." He motions for them all to move as he shouts, "Come on ladies, we don't have all night! Wave one is coming with me! If we run into any trouble, Neo will go with wave two, then we'll have a backup squad of air support on standby. You guys better not have your noses up each other's asses when I give you the signal, got it?"

As the group moves out, Roman along with the wolf Faunus and twenty other White Fang disguised Faunus all get into their airships and take off through the open main door to the warehouse as Neo anxiously watches the redhead depart, standing there with her umbrella open over her shoulder as she dawns a frown on her face.

* * *

Back in Beacon, Weiss and Ruby are looking at each other awkwardly, waiting for the other to break the ice. Ruby nervously stumbles to do so, suggesting, "Well, I guess we should sit down. This might take a minute.", as she walks over to Weiss, making sure to shut the door behind her before she does so.

Weiss replies with a nods in agreement as she timidly notes, "Yes...that'd probably be for the best."

Ruby and Weiss both take a seat at the edge of the roof, letting their legs dangle freely over the ledge. There's a moment of silence as the two awkwardly sit next to one another, Weiss with one leg crossed over the other as Ruby kicks her feet like a child sitting in a doctor's office. Weiss instinctively shoots her a quick glare, to which Ruby stops her swinging legs and seems to make herself smaller out of fear. The slightly reels back from this, as the guilt and shame come across her face, forcing her to turn away from her comrade in fear of what Ruby might think of her expression. After recollecting her emotions, the snow queen lets out a heavy sigh before forcing herself to mutter the words, "I-I'm...I'm sorry..." She then places a gentle hand on Ruby's shoulder and looks over to the darker-haired girl and, as kindly as she can muster, tells her, "I'm sorry that I come off as mean, or intimidating, or...well...a less than valuable teammate to say the least. Even if I think that I'm so much better than you, I shouldn't have acted the way I did. You were chosen as the leader of this team for whatever reason, and it doesn't matter that I don't understand, you're still the leader and I have to respect that. I shouldn't be acting out like this over something that was uncontrollable from the start."

Ruby accepts her apology with a slight nod before timidly adding, "Well, I didn't have to be so childish all the time either. Sure, I'm still young compared to you guys, but I'm at Beacon now. I'm officially becoming a Huntress. I need to stop acting like a little kid and be more of a leader for all of our sake. If I don't start acting like an adult now, I'll just be making becoming a good leader that much harder."

"Well, having your teammates not listen to you doesn't exactly help either...", Weiss nervously adds, admitting some guilt to Ruby's failure as the leader of their team.

"You know, even after everything you've said and done, Weiss...I never considered switching partners.", Ruby confesses to her partner, causing the heiress to look at her with a hint of skepticism.

Weiss raises an eyebrow at this and asks, "Even after I basically made one of our teammates jump out the window?", to which Ruby nods.

This puts a slight smile on the heiress' face as Ruby adds, "Even through all that, I still believed in you, I still believed in _us_. We can make a great pairing Weiss. Just let me try." The little red girl stands up and extends a generous hand out to the white princess, and as Weiss takes a moment to think about it, Ruby gets a slightly nervous look on her face.

Weiss just smiles at this, however, before gently taking her hand with her left, letting Ruby help her to her feet. As the heiress rises up to her partner's side, they look each other in the eyes and nod to each other. As the two partners smile at one another, Ruby suggests, "Now, why don't we just sweep this all under the rug and start from scratch." Ruby extends her hand out to Weiss again and says, "Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby Rose, and we'll be partners for the next four years. Let's try our best to get along."

Weiss graciously accepts her gesture and shakes the girl's hand as she replies, "Greetings Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and more importantly your partner. However, I won't just be your partner, I'll be the best partner you'll ever have throughout your life as a Huntress."

"You really think so?", Ruby jokingly questions the ice queen with a slight giggle, causing Weiss to give her a slight grin.

"Of course, it's not like you'll be getting another one any time soon.", Weiss replies in an equally joking tone, causing Ruby to let out a snort as she laughs at Weiss' joke. Weiss catches Ruby's laughter and starts to laugh herself, at first starting with a slight snicker before going into a full laugh.

As their laughter finally calms down, Ruby pats Weiss on the back and says, "Ah, that was a good one. I haven't laughed that hard since Yang made our dad super glue his hands to his face."

When Weiss hears this, she seems to tense up a bit, catching Ruby off guard as she asks, "Speaking of Yang, I have a question." Ruby nods, signaling the heiress to continue and Weiss nervously asks, "So, did they find her? Did they find Blake?", as she taps the tips of her index fingers together.

Ruby looks down at her scroll and explains, saying, "Well, Yang told us that Ash and her found Blake, but they didn't say where they were. I guess they went quiet so they could talk things out and get her to come back on her own."

Weiss surprisingly accepts this, giving a kind smile, seeming both relieved and slightly bothered at the same time by this. Ruby waves her worry off as she walks towards the door, confidently saying, "I wouldn't worry too much about them. I've known Yang my whole life, and I know for a fact that she'll never give up on a friend, no matter what. They'll be fine.", as she walks away. Weiss almost seems proud of the young girl and being her partner before a loud roar escapes from under her corset. Ruby nervously holds her stomach and mentions, "And I haven't had anything to eat ALL DAY! I need pancakes!" Ruby falls to the ground before starting to crawl towards the door, reaching for it as she moans, "Must...get...pancakes!"

Weiss rolls her eyes at her, but helps her partner up regardless of her antiques. As she throws Ruby's arm over her shoulder, she growls, "Come on, let's just hurry up and get you something to eat before you die on me."

Ruby smiles at this and happily thanks Weiss, saying, "Ah, you're already a lot better than before! The other Weiss would've left me there to die."

Weiss just rolls her eyes at the girl before grumbling, "Just shut up already, you'll actually starve if you keep this up."

* * *

As Sun valiantly fights against the grime and muck covering the dirtied dishes in the sink, Tukson and Blake take Yang and Ash to the small shelter under the Faunus' store.

Tukson flicks on the lights and Yang is left with her mouth gaping open in wonder as she sees the ten beds lining the walls. "Tukson helps people like me trying to escape the White Fang, so he's got plenty of room here for us to stay the night.", Blake happily explains to the blonde with a slight smile as she looks over at the man in question, causing him to scratch the back of his neck modestly.

"Well, when you put it like that it makes me sound like some sort of hero. I'm just doing what I can for Faunus everywhere.", Tukson humbly replies as he a slight grin comes across his face at her comment.

Without saying a word, Ash walks into the room and starts to inspect the new surroundings, seeming to examine the entire room with a few glances. "Stone walls, strong enough to protect from possible detection from the surface, a stainless steel door with insulation to further reduce noise along with the door being hidden behind a false mirror...how bizarre.", Ash curiously notes as he turns back to Tukson.

Yang raises an eyebrow at this and asks, "What? What is it, Ash?", to which the boy asks, "Why exactly are you so afraid of the White Fang? They're only an organization, so their reach shouldn't reach too far. Why not escape out of their range and evade them?"

Tukson lets out a reluctant chuckle at this before answering, "Out of their range? Yeah right, they have no definite range if that's how you wanna put it. The White Fang has their men in every part of the four kingdoms, watching. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Nowhere is safe from the White Fang."

"If the news is to be believed, they've been robbing Dust shops and weapons dealers left and right, and none of them got caught. If they're capable of something like that, then they probably have some way to get the layout of the building in every detail.", Yang notes as she crosses her arms and thinks about it for a moment.

Blake shakes her head no, refusing the idea, as she says, "I don't think it was them."

Everyone else seems to raise an eyebrow at this and Ash questions her loyalty, asking, "Why not?"

"Because the White Fang doesn't gain anything from these attacks. Dust, Lien, weapons, that's all they've taken so far. The White Fang gets plenty of those things through dealings on the black market and donations, so why would they come to Vale, the most accepting city towards our kind, and start causing chaos like this? It just doesn't add up.", Blake explains as she puts her hand to her chin, trying to find any other reason why they'd be doing these things.

Ash ponders this idea for a moment before asking, "Then if it isn't the White Fang, who do you think needs that much Dust and ammunition?"

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they're using the White Fang's name to cover up their crimes. I heard a few Faunus who came into the store earlier talking about some guys trying to recruit them into doing some dirty work that'd be blamed on the White Fang. I bet he knows something about it.", Blake replies as she drops her clenched fist into her open palm.

Yang gets a slight grin on her face as she adds, "Well, we can't just have them doing what they want here in Vale now, can we?"

"What are you kids planning? I don't like where this is going.", Tukson nervously asks as he looks to the girls and Ash for an answer.

The three all look to each other before giving a unified nod to one another with Blake following up by answering Tukson's question with, "We're stopping whoever these guys are, and we're going to absolve the White Fang of their crimes."

"You say that like we already know where they're at and what they're planning. For all we know, they could just be collecting resources for another job outside this kingdom.", Ash notes as he walks over to the girls.

Blake seems to be lost in thought for a second before Yang suggests, "How about we start by looking for this recruiting guy those Faunus you mentioned were talking about. If we find him, we could find out who these guys are and where to find them, right?"

Blake shakes her head no and replies with, "No, that wouldn't work. I never asked where they talked to that guy, so we have no frame of reference. We'd be in the same position as we are with these unknown thieves."

Everyone, except for Ash, jumps as they hear Sun suggest out of nowhere, "Why don't we just go and catch them with their flies down?"

Blake turns to him with a slight scowl before growling, "Sun, this is serious! We're trying to hunt these guys down."

"I'm being one hundred percent serious. We don't know if these guys are really the White Fang or not, and they've been robbing places with high amounts of valuables: Gun Shops, Weapons Smiths, Dust Shops. They're either planning something big or looking for big scores, so we have a bit of an idea what to look for. All we have to do is find the juiciest piece of meat and sit on it until they come biting.", Sun suggests as he walks over to them, explaining his plan flawlessly, much to everyone's surprise.

Blake raises a finger to this and with a baffled expression, says, "That's...actually a well thought out plan, Sun."

"See!? I can be smart too!", Sun pridefully exclaims as his ego is further fed by her slight complement.

Yang just snickers at this before throwing in a monkey wrench of her own, asking, "Okay, hotshot, then what are we gonna use for our bait? Or are you suggesting we use your big brain?"

Sun tries to think of another plan, but the robotic monkey in his brain seems to fail him as a defeated expression comes across his face.

Tukson picks up where the stumbling blonde left off, saying, "Well, the biggest thing going on this month is the Healing Hands convention. It's a big medical convention that Vale is hosting this year, and there's apparently going to be a big portion of the thing going over a new medical machine."

"Medical supplies could be worth a fair amount of Lien on the black market, not to mention what else they could get from the medicine alone. It's worth a look.", Blake notes with a nod as she considers the odds of the culprit being there.

"I think everything's being shipped in from Atlas by freighters, so you'd have to stakeout the docks. And I doubt they'd be dumb enough to try to rob the place in broad daylight, so it looks like you'll all be having a few long nights.", Tukson notes with a slight chuckle as he crosses his arms.

Yang gives him a quick nod before quickly saying, "Then that's what we're doing! Come on guys!" She grabs Ash by his arm, pulling him along as Blake follows after her with a quick sprint, leaving Sun behind in the confusion before he rushes after them, shouting, "Hey, wait for me!" As the group rushes out the door, Yang pulls out her scroll and sends a message to Ruby and Sapphire, reading, "Going to the docks. Might be some trouble, so come if you want to have some fun XD"

* * *

In Team JNPR's kitchen, Ren elegantly flips a pancake off of his pan up into the air and as it flips majestically through the air, Nora looks on in pure bliss. The pancake lands perfectly on top of a hot stack on Sapphire's plate, to which she thanks the boy, saying, "Wow, thanks Ren. I didn't think you could do something like that, I'm impressed."

"It's all in the wrist.", Ren stoically replies as he sits down next to Nora and Pyrrha on their side of the table.

As the crimson blur starts to stuff her face full of pancakes, Weiss asks, "So you have this entire kitchen to yourselves? You don't have to share with another team?", to which Jaune shakes his head no.

"Nope, apparently the team that was supposed to be placed in the dorm next to ours failed their initiation, so we have this whole kitchen to ourselves. Pretty cool, huh?", Jaune confidently replies, trying to impress Weiss, but failing miserably as she just rolls her eyes.

"It definitely sounds nice. If we had our own kitchen, we wouldn't have to live next door to such a pervert.", the heiress growls, causing Reginald to glare at her.

He quickly fires back at her, saying, "Yeah, and if we had our own kitchen we wouldn't have food constantly go missing."

"Hey, I had nothing to do with that!", Weiss frantically exclaims, trying to defend herself, to which Reginald shews her away.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Snowflake. But these pancakes though, mmmm, they're perfect~", Reginald continues as he takes another bite from his pancakes.

Persi takes a massive bite out of one of his pancakes and with his mouth somewhat full, he asks Ren, "Is that cinnamon I taste? With a hint of...honey?", to which the stoic boy nods, taking a small nibble of his own pancake as he does so.

"Ren makes the BEST pancakes! No matter what he has to work with, he always makes them taste amazing while having just the right amount of texture and fluffiness! It's like another semblance!", Nora exclaims as she nearly inhales her whole plate of pancakes.

Pyrrha lets out a slight chuckle at the ginger's overly energetic eating before struggling to say, "N-Nora, we talked about this! Manors!"

"Oh yeah, sorry!", Nora quickly replies before lifting her pinky finger up and continuing to shovel food into her mouth.

This gives everyone a good laugh and as Sapphire goes to enjoy her pancakes, she's interrupted by the sound of her scroll buzzing in her pocket. As she pops open the scroll, Ruby also gets a message on her scroll and does the same. The leaders' eyes slightly widen in surprise as they read the message and as they look up to each other and their eyes meet, they give each other a stern nod.

The duo quickly stands up from their seats as Sapphire says, "Sorry guys, but we have to go. We have a team situation to deal with."

Persi barely raises an eyebrow at this as he gets up to follow her and Weiss does the same with Ruby. Reginald, however, just keeps eating his pancakes as he tries to say, "You guys got this, I'll be here if you need me.", as he chows down on his pancakes.

"You're coming too, Reginald.", Sapphire growls as she grabs him by the collar of his dress shirt and pulls him along with them.

As he reaches out for his pancakes, he calls out to them, exclaiming, "I'll be back for you, my beauties! I swear!"

When the two teams finally leave, all of team JNPR just kind of look at one another in confusion, with Nora being the only exception as she looks at the numerous free pancakes on the table.

"I wonder where they're going..?", Pyrrha mutters as a concerned look comes across her face.

Nora just shrugs off her worry and greedily replies with, "I don't know, but it looks like SOMEBODY has to deal with all these pancakes! And mama's HUNGRY!", before going to war with the pancakes, devouring every last one in her sights as Ren simply facepalms.


	24. Extinguish The Flames Part 1

As Yang, Ash, and Blake hide inside a warehouse, they stalk the docks' many freighters waiting for the culprits to arrive. Sun, however, sneaks his way into the warehouse through a loose plate in the wall, joining the rest of the ragtag bunch on their stakeout. "Man, this is so boring. You'd think they'd have shown up by now.", Sun groans as he walks up to the group from behind.

Blake glares back at him and as feline eyes fall upon the apples in his arms, she growls, "Can you keep your voice down? This is a stakeout, so it's not meant to be all fun and games. Besides, where did you get those apples from?"

The monkey boy shoots her a quick smirk as he hands Blake one of the apples and says, "I found 'em."

"He stole them from the fruit stands down the street.", Ash stoically corrects the thief's lie as he keeps an eye of the guards patrolling the docks, each guard making his rounds in a timely manor.

Sun lets out a quick gasp at this as he holds his hands up to shield himself from Ash's claim, nervously replying with, "What? Me? Never! I'd never steal!"

"Can you stay focused for five minutes? Who knows when or even if these guys, whoever they are, will show up?", Blake whispers back to the monkey boy as she and her partner give him a quick glare.

Nodding in agreement with her partner, Yang turns her light gaze back to the nervous boy and adds, "Yeah, these kinds of things can take days, even weeks just to catch the slightest sign of suspicious movement."

"Wait, something's happening.", Ash suddenly announces, causing the others to look over in confusion. As they glance outside, they see the dock is being filled with some sort of purple gas, which causes all the guards to cough uncontrollably before each of them passes out.

"What's going on? Is that some sort of chemical attack or something?", Sun mutters to himself as he cautiously covers his mouth.

"They're here.", Ash sternly replies as his gaze shifts up to the sky to see three airships starting to descend from up above.

As the first two land, the gas is quickly blown away by the powerful engines as their landing docks extend out and a hoard of White Fang members walk out into the open, checking for any stragglers.

"Is that them?", Sun hesitantly asks as he sees the White Fang masks on the Faunus as they check the guards, stealing their weapons and other valuables from them.

Blake nervously looks at the Faunus as she notices one of them wearing a Lieutenant mask, and as she sees the red White Fang logo on their backs, she shakes her head no and says, "No, something...something's off... It can't be them..."

While Blake struggles to accept the fact that these thieves are actually members of the White Fang, the third airship starts to descend and they hear a cranky voice shout, "Come on, we don't have all night!" The four huntsmen all look to the source of the voice to see Roman as he stands at the airship's open cargo door, holding his hat with one hand as he points at the Faunus with his cane, growling, "We aren't exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves, so if you could pick up the pace that'd be great!" The airship finally lands and as Roman walks off it, he approaches the taller Faunus wearing the Lieutenant mask and says, "Find the cargo. It should be in one of these damn freighters."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. As long as I get paid in the end, you'll have your damned contraption.", the Faunus growls back as he walks away from Roman, lifting a heavy anchor up and onto his shoulder as he turns away from the smooth criminal.

"Isn't that the same guy your sister helped put away before the beginning of the semester?", Ash whispers to Yang, to which the blonde nods with a scornful glare at the redhead.

"Yeah, and I'd like to know how he got out.", Yang growls under her breath, to which Blake nods.

The dusk colored girl swiftly draws her Gamble Shroud as she suggests, "Why don't we go have a chat with him then?"

As Blake speeds off, Yang reaches out to stop her as she quietly shouts, "Blake, wait!", but the cat girl is too fast for her to catch.

The shadowy ninja quickly sneaks up behind the master thief and as she places her blade against the criminal's neck, she shouts, "Nobody move!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy! This suit isn't exactly easy to clean you know!", Roman replies as he tenses up with the girl's cold blade pushed against his throat.

The Faunus are all turn their undivided attention to her, their guns and other weapons aimed entirely on her as she glares at them all. To their surprise, she removes her bow with her free hand to reveal herself as a Faunus. A few of the Faunus seem to lower their weapons as she shouts, "Fellow Faunus, how could you aid this scum!? Don't you see what you're doing!? You're only giving people that hate us, people like HIM, more of a reason to discriminate us for being who we are!"

Hook, however, only chuckles at the sight before saying, "That's a good one, kitty cat, but I'm not in the mood to play this whole hostage game. How about we just fight instead?" He points his anchor at the two and it begins to transform before their eyes and Roman gets an irritated scowl on his face. It finishes its transformation and they see it's a large cannon, which he's surprisingly holding with only one hand, not seeming to struggle with the giant piece of metal in the slightest. He grins menacingly at the two before growling, "Let's have a god time~"

Before he can fire his cannon however, something hits the top of his head, bouncing off and hitting the ground in turn. Enraged, he glares down at the object to see it's an apple, causing him to raise an eyebrow at it. " _An apple?_ ", he thinks with a slightly confused glance before looking up to see Sun hanging from the nearby light post with another apple in his hand.

A sly grin comes across the monkey boy's face as he dangles from the light by his tail. Sun looks down at the wicked wolf with a warm smile before giving him a wave goodbye, causing the Faunus' brow to furrow even further in confusion.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hook sees a gleam of light rushing towards him and he moves his cannon to block it as it rushes towards him. To his surprise, Ash slashes at him with a powerful strike from his Dragoon, sending a shock wave through the air as the two weapons collide. A delighted smile comes across the wolf's face as he gleefully notes, "Ah, I like your style kid! Fight first, ask questions later! Let's dance~"

The wolf forces Ash's blade back with his raw power, pushing the swordsman back with his mighty cannon before its deadly end at the boy, following it up with a cannon shot aimed straight for the boy.

Ash manages to dodge the attack, leaping to his right to evade the giant projectile, but the cannonball continues hurdling towards Roman and Blake instead, causing the redhead to growl under his breath, "For the love of!" He quickly presses a button on his cane, causing the end of his cane to pop open, and with a quick pull of the trigger, Blake and Roman are engulfed by an explosion.

This causes the cannonball to detonate prematurely, leaving a giant crater in the concrete from its raw power. Roman and Blake are sent flying in separate directions from the master thief's attack, and both manage to stick their landings, Roman even managing to keep his hat on throughout the entire scuffle. "Well, fluffball, this is where we part ways. I can't have you ruining all my plans!", Roman confidently threatens the girl as he points his deadly cane at the girl before being hit in the face by an apple. He glares up to see Sun as the boy leaps down at the thief, holding his staff in both hands as he pulls back to come down on Roman as hard as he can.

Though Torchwich manages to block Sun's staff with his cane, Blake sprints in to take advantage of the opening. Roman sees this coming however and pushes Sun back before blocking Blake's blade, saving his life from the girl's deadly blade. Roman glares over at his Faunus workers and shouts, "Don't just stand there with your thumbs up your asses, do something!", causing most of them to raise their weapons in his defense.

They all seem to jump when they hear Yang say, "Aw, are you just gonna leave me to myself then?" And the group of hired goons look over to the blonde to see her slamming her fists together, she says, "That's pretty rude you know. You should treat a lady with some respect."

* * *

At Vale's airship dock, Ruby, Sapphire, Reginald, Persi, and Weiss are all getting off of the last airship of the night, and as they do so, Ruby looks down at her open scroll with a nervous glance. "Yang's starting to lose some of her aura... They must be fighting already.", Ruby notes as she sees Yang's aura meter going down, but not by much.

Sapphire nods to the smaller girl and as she looks down at her own scroll, she sees Ash's aura level has also gone down by a couple notches. "We need to hurry, if we don't get there in time they could all be in serious trouble.", Sapphire growls as she looks around for a means of transport.

Reginald lets out a heavy sigh and sarcastically replies, "And how exactly do you plan on getting there, Ruby's semblance? I know the girl runs around with a giant scythe, but I doubt she could carry me, let alone Persi and the Princess here."

Ruby quickly snaps her fingers and suggests, "Why don't we take the bus!?"

"Public transportation? At this hour? Doubtful. Let's call a taxi.", Weiss replies with a disgruntled look as she pulls out her scroll to call a cab.

Persi shakes his head no and notes, "There's not enough time. We need to get there now!"

"Excuse me, but I don't see you coming up with a better idea.", Weiss shoots back with a slight glare at the bear.

Reginald looks around for an answer as the two continue to bicker before his gaze falls upon an old looking news van parked next to the news station. A sly grin comes across the boy's face as he starts walking over to the van while tugging on his gloves to make sure he's prepared to execute his plan.

"Reginald, what are you doing?", Sapphire asks him as she notices the boy walking away with a menacing grin.

He turns to her and confidently meets her worry, saying, "I think I just found our way to the docks."

When he gets close enough to the van, he unleashes his wires and Weiss asks, "That thing? Seriously? It's so...hideous."

"Well, so is your attitude, so shut up and let me work my magic.", Reginald fires back with a slight glare at the heiress, to which she gives a defeated pout. He uses his wires to sneak through the van's defenses, entering through the air vents and wrapping them around the lock before pulling up on them, unlocking the driver's side door. "Jackpot!", Reginald gleefully exclaims as he reels his wires back into his gloves. He opens the door and quickly drops down to look under the steering wheel, tearing off a plastic cover to expose a plethora of wires underneath. As the smooth criminal sifts through the many colorful wires inside, he growls under his breath, "Where are you, you little shit? Come on, come on..." "Gods damn it, this thing's from Vacuo. They never make their shit like anyone else. This'll take a few minutes to hotwire.", Reginald growls as he fiddles with the wires, trying to find the right ones to use.

To his surprise, Persi pulls him out with one arm and sternly tells him, "I'll do it, I have a bit more experience with this sort of stuff."

Reginald just chuckles at this and sarcastically replies, "Oh really? Then go right ahead! It's nothing like in the movies, you know. It's a lot harder than it looks.", as Persi ducks down under to inspect the wires.

Almost instantly, Persi pulls out the right wires and cuts them with his nails before connecting the two ends, causing the engine to turn over and the van to start. As the bear escapes the small area under the wheel, he turns around to see everyone giving him surprised glances and glares.

"How...exactly did you know how to do that?", Ruby hesitantly questions the Faunus as Sapphire opens up the side door to the van.

Persi lets out a reluctant sigh before replying with, "I ran with the wrong crowds back in Vacuo. Long story short, it's in the past and I'd rather not talk about it."

"Fair enough. Let's get moving.", Sapphire orders as she helps Weiss into the van, giving the girl her hand to help pull the heiress inside.

"Wait, who's driving then?", Weiss nervously asks with a panicked look on her face.

Reginald looks to the group with a wide grin before pointing to himself with his thumb and saying, "That'd be me, Snowflake."

"You know how to drive!?", Ruby frantically asks the boy with a surprised expression across her face, to which Reginald cheekily nods.

"Yep, vans, cars, motorbikes, and even a few airships. I can drive or fly my way across this whole planet if I wanted to.", Reginald happily replies as he jumps into the driver's seat.

Persi jumps in on the passenger's side as he adds, "I'm riding shotgun. If anything fucks up while I'm back there, I probably wouldn't make it in time before you crashed into something."

As Sapphire pulls Ruby into the back, she replies with, "That's fine. Let's just get moving. We don't know what kind of threat they're up against out there."

Adjusting the rear view mirror to see perfectly out the back windows, Reginald lets out a hearty laugh before gleefully saying, "Hello passengers, this is your driver today. Make sure to buckle up because this is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Once he's finished setting up his mirrors, the boy quickly shifts the van into drive and slams down onto the pedal almost all the way, shooting the car forward with ridiculous speed and sending Weiss across the back of the van.

"Hey! Slow down! We won't be able to help Blake and Yang if we get arrested! SLOW DOWN!", Weiss shouts as she tries desperately to get back to her seat and buckle up.

Reginald only laughs at her though and shouts back, "I only have two speeds, Snowflake: Fast and Furious!", before putting the pedal to the floor, making the van go even faster!

* * *

While Ash confronts Hook and Blake and Sun fight off Torchwich, Yang is dealing with the small grunts that litter the docks. Three of the Faunus rush at Yang with their weapons raise, but she isn't phased in the slightest, punching one of them straight in the gut as he tries to drop his giant hammer on her. This sends the Faunus flying back as she fires a shot into him. In one fluid movement, she ducks under the other two Faunus' swords as they slice at her in unison and sweeps one Faunus' legs out from underneath them as she uppercuts the other. She quickly turns around after the uppercut and shatters the man's aura with a powerful punch on the grounded Faunus as the other one goes flying into the air.

Five more Faunus attack her this time, firing at her at a range in order to avoid her powerful fists. The blonde takes a few of their bullets, blocking the damage with her yellow aura before quickly firing off three shotgun rounds at them, bombarding the group with volleyball-sized explosions that send a few of the gunmen flying back.

Continuing on her rampage, Yang launches herself at the crowd of fake White Fang with two well-timed shots from her gauntlets. As she appears before them, they're left dazed and frightened by her speed, to which she grins happily before unleashing a wave of punches on the first guy to meet her eye.

Two more Faunus try to attack her from behind, but Yang blocks their attacks with one of her gauntlets before unloading a shot in one of the men and delivering a powerful heel kick to the other man's chin, sending him flying across the dock and into the water.

Four of the Faunus look to each other nodding to one another in agreement, two of them have rifles while the other two have machetes. The two machete Faunus rush Yang down as the other two Faunus provide covering fire, trying to divide the girl's attention. This fails quite miserably however as Yang simply tanks the bullets with her aura before flipping into the air and crushing one of the Faunus rushing her with a diving heel kick to the face. She follows this up with sweeping the other Faunus' legs out from under him with a sweeping kick right before crushing what aura he has with a dynamic punch, sending him crashing into the ground.

The rest of the fake White Fang groups up and starts unloading every round they have left in their weapons into Yang, but this time Yang bobs and weaves through their shots before leaping up towards a nearby crane. The girl uses the metal bars holding the crane up for cover for a moment before leaping off of them and uses the crane's hook to swing around them. With a sinister grin on her face, Yang goes for the unthinkable, an all out attack to knock them all out at once! When she finally lets go of the hook, she's right above the small group of Faunus with her fist raised high, leaving the group astonished at how she managed to avoid their onslaught of hellfire and position herself perfectly. And when she finally lands, she punches the ground with all her might, causing a ball of flames to surround her and knock the Faunus out cold.

* * *

Yang stands up in the middle of a ring of fire as she wipes the sweat from her brow, thinking, " _Woah, that took a bit longer than expected. What are the others up to?_ " She glances over to Blake and Sun to see they're holding their own against Torchwich, but by no means is Roman losing.

The redhead quickly blocks a rapid combo of swings from Sun's nunchuck-shotguns, which the boy is firing as he swings them wildly at the criminal. As he blocks these attacks, he pushes the barrels of each shotgun away in such a way that he doesn't get hit by the blasts, and even ends in the perfect situation to fire a shot at Sun's feet, pushing the monkey boy back and making an opening for Blake to rush in and attack.

" _She seems fine, what about A-_ ", Yang begins to think as she turns her attention to Ash, stopping mid thought as she sees Ash fighting Hook as an airship is flying around them with a Faunus on board firing down at the boy with a mounted gatling gun. With a pump of her shotgun gauntlets, she unloads her expended clips of shotgun shells before quickly reloading her babies with fresh clips from her ammunition pouch as she shouts, "Just hold on, Ash! Backup's on the way!"

As Ash avoids the last of the hail of bullets being fired down at him, nimbly evading each bullet until they're forced to reload, but he's immediately faced with another problem as Hook swings down at him with an overhead strike from his anchor. The grey-eyed mummy goes to block the attack with his sheath, but the force behind the strike is too much for him to handle and nearly crushes him, seeming to shatter the ground below his feet from the raw force behind it.

Yang finally comes to the rescue however, landing in between the two fighters with a powerful punch to the ground that blows Hook and sends dust and dirt flying through the air to make a small smoke screen.

"Ah, so you want some too!? The more the merrier!", the wolf Faunus gleefully exclaims as he transforms his weapon into its cannon form. As he points the deadly weapon at the smoke screen, he growls, "Are you two hens done playing with yourselves yet? We have a battle going on down here."

"The gun's reloaded, waiting on your call, Boss.", a timid bird Faunus replies through the ear piece in his ear.

This causes a sly smirk to crawl across the wolf's face as he replies, "Alright, let's show these little pups what the real world's like! Open fire!" Much to his surprise, before he can even fire, Ash goes flying out of the smoke, but instead of heading for him, the boy is going straight for the airship. He quickly shifts his aim to follow the boy as he growls, "Tryna run away!? I don't think so!"

Yang, however, rushes him down to stop this, unleashing a combination of quick jabs and pokes, forcing the Faunus on the defensive. As Hook blocks the girl's furious punches with his cannon, Ash reaches the airship and stabs his blade into its windshield, frightening the pilot before quickly shooting his aura blades into the engines. With a twist of his blade, the glass shatters and the pilot nervously flinches as he looks directly into the boy's cold, remorseless eyes. Afraid for their lives, both the pilot and the gunman quickly abandon the crashing airship as it starts to spin out of control.

While Yang continues to fight Hook, she notices the airship is heading straight for them as Ash leaps away to safety, giving her a quick nod as a signal. She grins at the sudden danger and pretends to rush her opponent down with her fist drawn back, ready to unleash a powerful haymaker on him.

The battle-hungry wolf greedily smiles at this and goes to clash with her attack, using his anchor, but instead of throwing a punch at him, she leaps into the air and fires a powerful shot at the ground, launching herself away from the Faunus. With rage filling his eyes, he growls, "Where the hell do you think you're going, you tease!?" He looks up at the source of the loud noise nearby to see the airship crashing, and that it's aiming right for him. "Oh shi-", he barely manages to shout before taking the full force of the airship as it crashes into him. As the airship crashes down into the Faunus, it explodes, consuming the Faunus in a bath of flames.

* * *

Over with Blake and Sun, they're unleashing a plethora of combos on Torchwich, trying to best to criminal, but failing as he perfectly parries them at every turn. As Roman blocks Sun's quick nunchuck strikes, the monkey boy finally runs out of ammo as he goes to pull the triggers again, but nothing fires from his guns. Roman, being the sly devil he is, notices this and starts going on the offensive as he twirls his can around in one hand, unleashing strike after strike at Sun, who blocks the attacks with his nunchucks.

The master thief almost has the upper hand until Blake jumps back into the fight, having to take a minute to back out in order to reload her weapon properly. She quickly slashes at the man, forcing him to duck under her attack as she flips over him. Sun and Blake both rush in to take advantage of the situation to attack Roman, Sun reverting his weapon back to its staff form as Blake uses both her sword and sheath to attack.

The thief skillfully dodges and parries their combination of attacks, ducking under Sun's staff swing with a crouch as he blocks Blake's blade with his cane. Blake goes to strike him down with her sheath, but Roman quickly grabs his hat with his free hand and with the press of a button on the inside of the cap, a razor sharp circular blade jets out from the hat's rim. Surprisingly, Roman is able to block Blake's sheath with this over-the-top weapon, causing Blake's and Sun's eyes to widen in disbelief.

The skilled hatter forces the girl back with his hat-blade and cane before pointing the end of his cane at Sun and firing. As he does this, he throws his round hat at Blake, causing the blade to spin at a remarkable rate, the hat zooming by the girl's face as it cuts manages to cut into her aura. With his hat starting to boomerang back his way, Roman growls, "I have plenty more tricks where that came from kiddos, so you'd better not underestimate a professional."

The ginger quickly catches his hat and manages to take a second to glance over at the raging fire that engulfed Hook, growling under his breath, "Bunch of useless animals, every single one of you. It seems if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." The devil's stern glare then falls upon Blake and Sun as he shouts, "Well then? I'm waiting! What are you two fleebags doing just standing around, huh!? If you wanna fight, let's go! I'm not holding back anymore!"

To his surprise, instead of charging at him, Blake, Sun, Ash and Yang surround the thief, blocking any hopes for escape. "It's over Torchwich, it's just you now, so you don't stand a chance.", Yang growls as she points one of her shotgun gauntlets at him.

Roman only chuckles at the girl's failed attempt at a threat before glancing around at the four huntsmen-in-training surrounding him. " _These kids, they're so smug, but they're right. I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I even had to use that old hat trick. I'll have to-_ ", he begins to think before hearing the faint sound of an airship engine in the distance. The sound brings a warm smile to his face before he tries to think of something to stall for time, leading to him glancing over at Yang and saying, "Ah, you're the girl that trashed Junior's night club a few months ago! I knew I was remembering that annoying voice from somewhere. Well, I got out of there early enough last time and it seems like I'm going to get out of this little situation as well."

The observant thief notices the blonde tighten her fist and chooses to push her even further, saying, "You know I'm surprised you didn't get any jail time for that. What'd you do? Give the officers a little kiss? Or maybe you gave them something else? Hm? I knew the pigs here in Vale were easy to bribe, but I didn't know they'd take used goods."

Yang is beyond embarrassed, her cheeks turning a bright red at his comments while she growls at the man in her fury. The blonde takes a step towards Roman, ready to unleash her wrath upon him, but Ash blocks her path with his sheath. The blonde glares over at the boy with rage filling her crimson eyes, but before she can ask him why he's stopping her, Ash asks everyone, "Do you hear that?", causing the other huntsmen's ears to perk up.

Suddenly, an airship zooms in and a girl glides down from the ship, using an umbrella to slow her descent to the ground before finally landing next to Roman. The girl has long hair with brown on one side and pink with some white streaks on the other, a right brown eye and a pink left one, and is wearing white jacket with a pink interior over a brown corset, along with brown pants, black gloves, and black and white boots with very high heels which work well with her pale skin and many necklaces.

The seemingly young girl smiles over at Roman and he gives her a kind glance before joking telling her, "Took ya long enough, Neo."

"A partner?", Sun asks with a curious look at the short girl.

Roman rubs the back of his head with his free hand and adds, "But, I have to admit, you were right about those fleebags. They were nothing more than useless grunts."

Blake grits her teeth at his belittling comment and quickly transforms Gamble Shroud into its gun form, unloading five shots at the man as she shouts, "Stop belittling them, you scum!"

Neo swiftly reacts to this attack however and blocks the oncoming fire with her open umbrella. As the short girl closes her oddly strong umbrella and rests it to her shoulder, she glares silently at the cat girl as the Faunus grits her teeth in frustration. Roman and Neo both smile happily at one another as Roman asks her, "Why don't we show these kiddos what real teamwork looks like?", to which the mute girl nods.


	25. Extinguish The Flames Part 2

Back in the streets of Vale, Reginald is speeding down the street as everyone else in the car holds on for dear life. The boy swings the wheel around as he drifts around the next turn and Ruby and Weiss go flying across the back.

The two girls go flying towards Sapphire, who catches them before they can run face first into the wall, and Weiss glares up to the front as she shouts, "Could you please stop trying to kill us!?"

"Hey, do you wanna get there quick or not!? Now shut up and let me drive!", Reginald shouts as he shoots a deadly glare back at the heiress through the mirror.

Suddenly, Persi eyes widen as the bear shouts, "Watch out!", and Reginald slams down on the brakes, forcing the van to come to a screeching halt and sending the girls flying forward into the wall between the cab and the back of the van.

"What the hell was that for!?", Weiss exclaims as she pulls herself off of Sapphire and Ruby. To her surprise, Reginald doesn't even yell back at her, instead he he completely ignores her and swings open the door before leaping out of the van. "Where are you going!? Get back here!", the heiress exclaims as she goes to open the door.

Before she can open it however, it swings open and they see Penny standing there with a baffled expression on her face. "Sal-u-taions!", the young redhead happily calls out to the girls with a smile and wave, shocking them.

"Penny? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be, you know, at the dorms or something?", Ruby asks the girl nervously.

"Hello, friend Ruby, friend Sapphire, friend Weiss, I was helping clean the streets before going back to Beacon before Reginald nearly hit me with your van.", Penny quickly explains as she looks to the girls.

Reginald quickly pushes the girl into the van as he quickly growls, "Come on, Penny, we don't have all night. You're coming with us."

"Really? You want to hangout with me!?", Penny cautiously asks, not sure if he's being serious.

The boy pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a reluctant sigh before telling her, "It's a long story, but all you need to know is there's some STG business we need to deal with."

Penny's eyes widen as she hears this before a focused look comes across her face. With an understanding nod, the ginger replies, "Understood, Alpha Unit. Beta Unit is ready to move out."

Reginald smiles at redhead as she gives him a quick salute before shutting the door and heading back to the driver's seat. As the boy leaps into the driver's seat, he slams the door shut and tells Penny, "Alright Penny, we're going to the docks. You have your weapons, right?"

"A-firmative! I am combat ready!", Penny replies with a nod, to which Reginald floors it.

"Then let's get this show on the road!", Reginald exclaims as they go flying down the street, the girls all holding onto Sapphire for dear life as they go flying around the back of the van.

With the three girls clinging to her like children, Sapphire shouts, "REGINALD! YOU BASTARD!"

* * *

While Roman stands next to Neo and as he glances down at her, she gives him a few quick hand gestures with her free hand, talking to him through sign language, and Roman laughs. "Yeah, you can play with the mummy and the bimbo. I'll deal with the fleebags.", Roman jokingly replies as he twirls his cane around in one hand like a smooth criminal.

With a quick nod, Neo shuts her umbrella and rushes down Yang, surprising the blonde as she thrusts the sharp, pointed end of her umbrella at her.

Yang quickly throws up her hands to block the short girl's thrust, but Neo just leaps over her and goes to stab her in the back. The blonde rushes to turn around to defend herself, but it's too late as Neo's sharp umbrella is just about to meet her throat.

Ash, however, uses his semblance to create a wall of blades that not only blocks the colorful girl's assault, but forces her on the defensive as the blades go flying towards her.

This forces the shorter girl to retreat with a series of backflips before opening her umbrella to block the blades. To her surprise, Ash manages to maneuver around her and flank her as she blocks his barrage of aura blades.

The mute hastily leaps up into the air to dodge the boy's horizontal slash, but as she does so, she encounters another problem: Yang.

The blonde is right behind her with her fist pulled back and ready to turn the multi-colored girl into a thin paste. As Neo's eyes widen in disbelief, Yang's powerful fist connects with her face, but instead of going flying through the air, the mute shatters into glass. "Glass?", Yang thinks to herself as he eyes widen in confusion before hearing a cocky huff from above her head. The raging blonde manages to glance up just in time to catch a glimpse of a small boot as its heel strikes her right in the face, sending her crashing down to the ground.

Like a meteor, Yang crashes into the ground, going past Ash before to a halt as Neo floats back down on her umbrella, closing the weapon as she lands.

With Yang down for the moment, Ash dashes in to face the girl alone, slashing at her with a trio of quick swings from his Dragoon. As Neo meets the boy's blade with her umbrella, blocking his onslaught as he forces her backwards, he thinks, "Her semblance seems to allow her to disappear, so I just have to be patient and wait for an opening." Neo continues to block his attacks perfectly with her lethal umbrella until Ash mixes up his fighting style as he mixes in a few kicks on her

Ash, however, breaks through her defenses and manages to slash her across the chest, but she shatters into glass yet again as she evades the attack.

Appearing behind the boy, Neo goes to skewer Ash with her umbrella like a piece of meat, but she's astonished when he quickly turns around and counters the stab with his sheath by redirecting her attack off to the side.

With one quick thrust, Ash stabs Neo's chest with all his might, but the girl only lets out a slight wince as her aura protects her from any serious damage.

Neo quickly retreats as she holds her chest, glaring daggers back at the boy as he sheathes his blade back into its sheath.

Ash's cold, stoic glance meets Neo's enraged glare as he tells the girl, "No matter how much you try, you'll never beat me. Surrender peacefully and we won't need to go any further."

The devilish girl replies only with a dastardly grin before pointing her umbrella at him and opening it.

In less than a second, the veil shatters and the multi-colored girl is replaced with a furious Yang, who's charging right for Ash. With her eyes burning with her crimson fury, Yang unleashes a wave of quick punches on the mummy boy, who does his best to block with his sheathed Dragoon.

While the boy desperately tries to evade Yang's overwhelmingly powerful blows without harming her, Neo appears seemingly out of thin air and attacks Ash, lunging at the boy with her rapier like umbrella. Ash manages to dodge past the small girl, evading both her sharp umbrella and Yang's devastating punch as he moves to attack her from behind. Motioning his open hand at Neo, Ash launches three aura blades right at the girl, which she manages to block by opening her umbrella as Yang continues to pursue Ash in her rage. "This is bad, Yang seems to be under this girl's control. I have to break her out of this somehow.", Ash calmly assesses as he continues to dodge the blonde's familiar attacks.

This time, as Ash dodges around the red-eyed warrior's attack, he steps on her left foot, causing her to growl out in slight irritation as the boy moves behind her. Yang swings around, unknowingly throwing a full power punch at the boy's face, but Ash manages to evade her attack again as he steps on her foot one more time as Neo rushes in to attack.

"Ow! That's my foot you-", Yang exclaims as she finally breaks through her spell and sees Ash standing by her as he blocks the short girl's umbrella. "Ash? But, I was fighting-", Yang continues before noticing Neo attacking Ash, to which she quickly assists the boy, firing a quick shot off at the girl to force her to stop her approach.

"She's using illusions to cloud our minds. Try to keep focused and not let your mind be corrupted.", Ash explains as he looks around for any way to give them a slight advantage against the girl.

"Illusions? So that means I wasn't really fighting her then? That bitch thinks she can just make a fool out of me, Yang Xiao Long!? Well she has another thing coming if she thinks she can just get away with pissing me off!", Yang growls to herself as she clenches her fists and glares at the smug multi-colored girl smiling back at her.

Ash only gives the blonde a quick nod before telling her, "Why don't we put that motivation to good use? I have a plan, but we need to keep her on the defensive. We can handle that much, right?"

Yang just smiles over at the ashen boy as she cocks her shotgun gauntlets and tells him, "If it's the two of us, I think we'll be alright."

* * *

On the other side of the battlefield, Blake and Sun are struggling to keep up their defenses against the Master Thief: Roman Torchwich.

As Blake goes to unleash a series of quick slashes on the handsome devil, Roman uses his can to grabs Sun and use him as a Faunus shield, kicking the monkey boy towards her as he launches a quick shot from his cane at the couple.

Sun, however, manages to pull his staff together just in time to twirl it with enough speed to deflect the attack off into the air, where the shot explodes in a red fireball of an explosion.

There isn't a moment to rest, however, as Roman tosses his hat back at the two Faunus, rushing towards them as he uses his razor sharp hat as a distraction.

As Blake deflects the deadly cap with her sheath, the crimson devil throws a quick kick at her, grazing her aura-protected cheek as he swings his cane at Sun, who barely reacts in time to block with his staff. Roman isn't done yet though and as the cap on the end of his cane pops open, the devilish man fires a shot directly at Sun, sending the boy flying.

"Sun!", Blake exclaims as she watches the monkey boy skid across the ground as she blocks the thief's attacks while also trying to see if Sun is okay.

With her attention elsewhere, Roman takes this moment to launch Blake back with a trio of rapid shots to the gut before finishing her off with a powerful kick to the chest.

The dusk colored girl falls backwards, flipping over onto her stomach as she loses her Gamble Shroud, the weapon flying from her hands as she hits the concrete with a thud.

With a sly grin on his face, Roman looks down at Blake as he tells her, "Well, it's been fun kiddies, but it looks like this is check and mate." The crimson devil points the end of his cane upwards, and as the end pops open, Blake looks up to see the giant metal container above her. "Looks like it's curtains for you, kitty cat!", Roman exclaims as he fires a shot at the chain suspending the freighter, shattering the chain entirely.

Time seems to slow down for the Faunus as the tons of metal descends upon her, drawing closer and closer with every microsecond that goes by. Blake quickly shuts her eyes, waiting for the end, but she's instantly met with the sounds of a loud engine and screeching tires as the air chills around her. As the Faunus opens her eyes, she sees an ice barrier around her with a van off to her side, its engine rumbling inside the barrier. The van's side door quickly swings open and Blake is instantly met with Weiss scolding her, shouting, "What do you think you're doing!? Were you going to just sit there and let him squash you or something, you idiot!?"

"Weiss? What are you-", Blake begins to ask the heiress before Sapphire leaps out behind her as she growls, "We got Yang's message, can you move?"

Before Blake can reply, Ruby rushes out of the van, tackling the Faunus with a warm embrace as the hooded girl squeals, "Blake! You're okay!" "You were gone for so long, we were worried sick! But don't worry, we're here to get you out of this mess.", Ruby continues as she holds the dusk cat girl in her arms, Blake looking down at her as the little red girl cuddles herself into her chest.

As she looks back up to the van, Blake sees the rest of team SAPR exiting the van and asks, "Everyone...you're all here..? But, why?"

"We're here to save your ass, what does it look like? Now get ready, we have to deal with this fraiter before my barrier breaks.", Reginald scoffs at the Faunus girl as he manipulates his wires and the cylinders on his Silver Lining start to spin.

They all look up to see the ice barrier around them cracking as the weight of the metal freighter starts to take its toll.

As the cylinders in the backs of his gloves click into place, Reginald's wires begin to shine with a brownish glow before forming a stone structure around them. Almost instantly the ice shatters and the freighter falls perfectly into the stone structure, which holds it perfectly.

Seeing the Huntress with her reinforcements, Roman quickly turns his attention to Neo, who's struggling to keep up with Ash's overwhelming combo of speed and aura blades mixed with Yang's punishing blows. "Neo, fall back and regroup!", Roman shouts before pressing a button his his wrist watch, causing the device to light up as the words; 'Message Sent', appear on its touchscreen.

Before the short girl can retreat to the crimson devil, Sapphire shouts, "We need to keep them split up! Reginald, you take Blake and Weiss over to help Ash and send Yang back over to us while we deal with Torchwich."

Reginald gives his leader a quick nod and helps Blake up to her feet before looking to the monochrome duo and growling, "Now if you're done laying down on the job, why don't we go kick some ass?" With a quick nod from the Faunus and Heiress, the three rush off to assist their comrades as Ruby, Sapphire, and Persi all stare down the criminal kingpin, Roman Torchwich.

Roman lets out a loud groan at the sight of Ruby's crimson hood before growling under his breath, "Great, that little red brat's back, and she brought her Power Ranger friends with her, what fun."

Much to his surprise, Sapphire takes a step towards Roman and sternly tells him, "I'll only tell you this once, stand down and come in quietly."

This attempt to intimidate the thief fails as he only laughs Sapphire off before telling her through his chuckling, "That's not gonna happen kiddo. If you didn't notice, I'm not nearly done yet. And I can't afford to stop here, not now." Roman twirls his cane in his right hand as he growls at the small group, saying, "If you knew what was good for you, you wouldn't have stuck your nose in my business."

Sapphire draws two of her Azure Drakes and with a blade in each hand, she growls back at the thief, saying, "Fine, have it your way then." With her eye glowing with her strong blue aura, Sapphire charges at Roman as she exclaims, "We'll just have to force you to surrender!"

* * *

As the two clash, Roman blocks the one-eyed girl's blades with his cane, thought the force of her rush causes him to skid back a few inches. "Well aren't you a treat? Haven't I seen you somewhere before?", Roman quips as he forces the azure warrior back. After getting a better look at the girl and noticing her eye-patch, Roman lets out an irritated chuckle before growling, "Sapphire Cobolt? That girl from the vids? What the hell are you doing here!?" "Not only did those idiots blow the whole score, they somehow lead a small army of children with guns here! Great! Fucking fantastic!", the crimson devil shouts in his mind as he glares at the ragtag group of junior Huntsmen in front of him.

Shifting her Crescent Rose into sniper mode, the crimson hooded girl glances over to Persi and shouts, "You back up Sapphire, I'll cover you!"

Without a moment of hesitation, the intimidating Faunus rushes into battle with his ax in hand.

Looking down her scope, the trained sniper fires a swarm of bullets over the bear's shoulder as he rushes Roman down, forcing the crimson devil to evade not only the powerful rounds aimed at his head, but also the deadly flurry of blades coming for his throat.

As the master thief ducks under the last bullet, the chunk of metal zooming past his face almost in slow motion, he's faced with another problem; the deadly melee fighters who've just closed the gap between them.

Persi attacks the criminal with an upward slash from Riptide, but Roman manages to shoot himself backwards with a blast from his cane, which covers both of the Huntsmen in a thick layer of smoke. "That should daze them for a bit. Now, to go get Neo and regroup.", Roman quickly plots as he glances over to his partner in crime.

Across the small battlefield, Neo is fending off not only Ash and Yang's assaults, but also protecting herself from Reginald and Weiss' Dust attacks and Blake's shadow clones.

"Neo's still sick, I've gotta do something!", Roman growls in his mind as he prepares to rush to the multi-colored girl's side, but something seems to pull him back. Glancing over his shoulder, Roman notices one of the azure warrior's blades glowing with a dark energy. "Gravity Dust?", the man mutters to himself in confusion before feeling the blade's pull continue to drag him closer to it.

Much to his surprise, Sapphire rushes through the dust cloud with a sword in her left hand and another in her mouth. The warrior leaps towards the glowing blade as it pulls Roman towards it before grabbing the weapon and pressing its button to stop the Dust consumption. Now in her Three Swords Stance, Sapphire uses all three blades to slash at Roman, each blade coming at the master thief from a different angle.

Though her attack is swift and well calculated, Roman still manages to block all three of her blades, blocking the two in her hands with his cane in one hand and blocking the blade in her mouth with his hat in his other hand. "You might be good, Patchy, but you still have a ways to go before you'll ever catch me off gua-", Roman starts to say before getting slammed in the face by a golden punch that sends him hurdling into a nearby freighter.

"Took You long enough. You still up for this, or do you need a nap already?", Sapphire asks the blonde as Yang fixes her golden locks.

"And let you guys have all the fun? Fat chance, Sapphire. Besides, last time I checked you only have more wins than me in official tournaments.", the blonde boldly replies, causing the one-eyed swordsman to scoff.

Before they can continue, Persi and Ruby rush over and the crimson girl growls, "Yang, now isn't the time for that! We need to end this quickly!"

Snapping back into the situation, Sapphire and Yang both nod to one another before turning their attention to Roman, who's still trying to recover from that last hit.

As he places his razor sharp hat back on his dome, Roman lets out a wince as he mutters to himself, "Did anyone get the number on that truck?" With his redish orange aura glowing around his body, Roman thinks to himself, "I just have to stall a little longer now... Those idiots better not fuck this up too!"

* * *

On the other side of the docks, Neo is evading and blocking as many attacks as she can muster against the inexperienced team of Huntsmen. Short of breath, the mute girl pants as she tries to force air back into her little lungs.

"What? Tired already? Or maybe you're just charmed by my good looks~", Reginald quips as he notes the small girl's panting.

Blake and Weiss, with their eyes rolling at the pervert's comment, turn their focus to the exhausted enemy before them.

"Like someone would be interested in a pervert like you, Reginald.", the heiress pesters the boy with a slight grin, earning a slight growl from the silver colored boy.

"Both of you need to focus. This one isn't a push-over, so stay vigilant.", Ash warns the two Atlesians, grabbing the hilt of his blade before rushing the tired mute again.

As Blake follows close behind the mummy, she nods her head in agreement with him as she notes, "Good point, now let's get this over with."

Noticing the duo's odd amount of teamwork, Reginald and Weiss share a quick, yet understanding glare before breaking from their tiny squabble and returning to the fight.

"Alright, you three go in! I'll cover you!", the master of threads exclaims as his wires shoot through the air, letting out shrieks as they unreel from the boy's gloves.

Weiss follows the wires into battle, her Myrtenaster in one hand as she summons a glyph on the ground with the other. The white sigil that the girl summons shoots her straight into battle with Ash and her dusk colored team-mate.

Neo, still tired from her previous scuffle with the burning blonde and the mummy boy, can't find the energy to move in time to evade the trio's attack, so she's forced to hold her ground and defend. As Weiss takes the first attack, she lunges at the ice cream girl with her rapier, but Neo manages to deflect the attack with her closed umbrella and as Blake goes to slash at her she opens the umbrella to block the dark blade. With her defenses focused on Blake, Ash manages to maneuver around the small girl and unleash a few quick strikes, which clash against her pink aura. The attack causes the girl to quickly turn around, slashing at her attacks as her multi-colored eyes quickly shifting to pure pink rage.

"An opening!", Weiss shouts internally as she sees Neo's back turned and goes to strike. As her rapier meets its mark, the ice cream girl shatters into glass, leaving the heiress baffled.

"Behind you!", Blake warns her team-mate as Neo reappears behind the snow colored girl.

It's too late for Weiss to turn around however, and as she barely manages to glance over her shoulder to see her assailant she sees Neo with her blade ready to stab into her pale flesh. With a twisted, enraged smile, Neo stabs down at the heiress with all her might, but the blade stops mere inches away from the pale girl's face. "Now come on Ice Queen, anyone could've seen that one coming!", Reginald scolds the Schnee from across the battlefield before his wires slice at the thief.

Neo manages to barely dodge the attack, making herself shatter into glass and reappear a few feet away from the heiress and her allies. As the four Huntsmen prepare to attack the helpless girl, she glances up at them with a cheeky smile.

"She's...smiling?", Weiss mutters as she notices the girl's odd expression.

Leaning on the side of caution, the four halt their attack before seeing the sly girl point happily up into the sky behind them. With a slight hum coming from far behind them, Blake, Reginald and Weiss glance back at what Neo's pointing at to see an oncoming onslaught of airships heading straight for the docks. As Reginald focuses his gaze on the ships, his eyes widen as he reels back at the sight. The airships quickly open fire on the teens, forcing them onto the defensive and allowing Neo to escape.

As Weiss forms a wall of ice to protect Blake, Ash, Reginald and herself, she shouts, "What in the Gods names are those things!? They look Atlesian!"

"Atlesian airships! Fucking ATLESIAN AIRSHIPS!?", Reginald growls as he rushes out from the heiress' cover, running towards the nearby warehouses. As they see the seemingly helpless boy, the airships shift their fire towards him, but Reginald easily blocks their rapid fire with his many wires, forming a small, mobile wall between himself and the hostiles.

"What are you doing!? Are you trying to get yourself killed!?", Blake exclaims as she looks to the boy with a baffled expression.

Reginald only glances back at the two girls and his team-mate before shouting, "Don't worry about me, just distract them for a little while and keep them off the others! Weiss, if you can deal hold them off, we'll take them out!"

Weiss only responds with a quick nod before spinning the cylinder on Myrtenaster and sending small balls of fire at the flying ships as it stops on its Fire Dust. Following suit, Blake and Ash both shoot at the airships, Blake using her Gamble Shroud and Ash shooting aura blades at them. This distraction surprisingly works, causing the airships to fire down at the other three Huntsmen as they rush into a nearby warehouse with Weiss protecting them from the oncoming fire with her Ice Dust.

"Good job Ice Queen, now it's our turn to fire back.", the sly boy thinks as he rushes off towards a nearby warehouse.

* * *

When he reaches his destination, the boy uses his Silver Lining to hoist himself up to the warehouse's rooftop and as he reaches the top he's greeted by the wonderful ginger Penny Polendina, who asks him, "Reginald? Is this the signal?"

"Yeah Penny, we got incoming airships at our nine o'clock. You remember that attack we practiced back in the STG, right?", the silver boy asks the ginger as the airships continue closing in.

The awkward girl happily nods to her former comrade and replies with, "A-firmative! But should we use an attack like that here? It could be dangerous."

"Penny, we both know what ships those are. We're taking them down, now.", Reginald growls back at the girl as he weaves his threads around the Penny and himself.

The young ginger gives her friend a reluctant nod before releasing her swords from her backpack. With a flick of Reginald's wrists, Earth and Light Dust fill his wires, forming a large glass prism in front of the duo with its top aimed straight at the enemy. Following her friend's lead, Penny clenches her fists, causing her swords to transform into pistol like weapons as their inner workings start to glow with a bright green energy. Pulling her fists back, the energy quickly builds up inside the weapons, causing their green glow to only intensify. And as she throws her fists towards the oncoming airships, green lasers shoot out from the tips of her weapons. When the beams hit Reginald's glass, the beams seem to focus into a single point inside, turning them into one overwhelming green beam of death! As the single beam launches out from the prism, it cuts clean through the wing of one of the airships, causing it to come crashing down onto the nearby train station.

"Alright, Chronos formation is a go! Let's do this, Penny!", Reginald gleefully exclaims as he shifts the beam towards another airship. Before the pilots can even react, Reginald manages to slice through two more of them. While he adjusts the beam one last time, Reginald hears the sound of his glass starting to break as he sees the cracks slowly forming from the beam's contact point. "Come on, just one more!", Reginald internally growls before finally landing a hit on the final airship.

The beam cuts through the airship, splitting the metal shell clean in half, but as it crashes down to the ground Reginald's prism shatters and Penny stops firing her lasers. "It would appear my weapons are out of energy. Recharging now.", Penny notes as she looks to her blades as they blink with a red light, seeming worried by the color.

"That's fine Penny. We kept them from esc-", Reginald begins to say before seeing Roman and Neo reunited with one another as they board their docked airship with a metal box in the crimson criminal's hand. Clenching his fist as he sees the airship starting to take off, Reginald curses to the sky, "Mother fucker!", before leaping back down to the ground.

"Reginald! Would you like me to assist you with your mission?", Penny worriedly asks the boy as she leans over the edge of the building to look down at him.

Reginald glances back up at the ginger and shouts, "Come on Penny, if we don't hurry they'll get away!", causing the freckled girl to leap down to join him on his quest.

"You guys got any ideas!?", Reginald exclaims as he rushes over to his allies with Penny close behind him.

Sapphire's eye suddenly erupts with her bright blue aura before she turns her eye to Persi and growls, "Weiss, form ice pillars! Blake and Reginald, you two make me a giant slingshot. Persi and Yang, you'll pull us back. Ash, you provide covering fire."

"And what about me!?", Ruby desperately exclaims, to which Sapphire gives her a slight smile and says, "You're coming with me."

With the airship starting to fly away, Weiss forms two large which Reginald wraps his wires around with Blake wrapping her bows around them to make sure they don't come loose. As Ruby and Sapphire sit on top of Crescent Rose, Persi and Yang pull the two back, tensing the wires to their maximum hold. Glancing over to the small hooded girl behind her, Sapphire asks, "Ready?", to which the girl simply nods. A confident grin comes across the one-eyed warrior's face as she sees this and she shouts, "Fire!", causing Yang and Persi to let go, launching the duo through the air like a small rocket from the tension in the wires.

As Ruby fires off a few rounds from her sniper rifle, Roman glances out through the window in the door to see the girls coming straight for them, causing his eyes to widen in rage. "For the love of-!", Roman exclaims as he drops the metallic container on his seat, leaving his co-pilot's chair to deal with the oncoming threat. The master thief pulls open the door and as he points his cane at the two gems, he shouts, "You should've stayed put, kiddos! Now it's game over for you!" He quickly fires off three shots at the girl, emptying the last of his shots at them, but they're quickly met by Ash's aura blades as he launches his own projectiles to counter Roman's.

As the two girls draw closer and Ruby continues to unload the last of her shots into the air, Sapphire draws three of her swords and contemplates to herself, "It's now or never!" With her eye still glowing, Sapphire leaps from the crimson missile, aiming her blades right for the airship's wings. Neo however has other plans and shifts the ship's wings to a safe distance from the azure warrior. Missing her mark, Sapphire starts falling down to the concrete ground below. The one-eyed warrior isn't phased in the slightest though and as she presses the buttons on her blades, they coarse with blue lightning. Using the last of the Lightning Dust in these three blades, Sapphire launches a dragon-shaped bolt of lightning at the ship's engine. The dragon-shaped lightning bolt hits its mark, sending energy surging through the entire ship as it fries the engine in the right wing entirely.

Without any life left in the ship, it starts to spiral out of control as it falls from grace.

Looking down, Sapphire sees her death approaching just as quickly and she coats herself in her blue aura as she prepares for the blunt damage to hit her like a train. Before she can hit the ground, Reginald shouts, "I got her!", as sends his wires out towards the warrior.

The wires quickly weave into a spider web that catches Sapphire, stopping her descent just in time to keep her from splatting face first on the concrete. As the girl manages to find her way down to the ground from the web-like net, Reginald quickly asks her, "Are you alright, Boss?"

Sapphire reels back slightly after hearing this and thinks, "Did he just call me 'Boss?'" Her train of thought is instantly blown to smithereens when they hear the airship crash into the roof of the nearby train station! As the roof starts to crumble apart, the whole building comes toppling down on top of the airship, burying what's left of the criminal duo inside.

Ruby rushes over to the rest of the group, shouting, "Come on guys! We have to go in there! The workers in that station need us!"

Penny just giggles at the little red hero's enthusiasm and shatters it as she informs Ruby, saying, "Don't worry, friend Ruby, the Vale Train Station has been abandoned for over ten years. Nobody uses the train system anymore."

This causes the red haired girl to hang her head in embarrassment, but her mood instantly lightens up when she feels a gentle hand grasp her shoulder. Ruby glances over to see Weiss giving her a surprisingly kind smile before telling her leader, "Don't worry Ruby, it's the thought that counts, right?"

"Yeah! You're right!", Ruby happily exclaims as she returns to her usual cheerful self, gleefully leaping into the air like a carefree child.

As sirens roar from the nearby roads, Yang points over to the shining red and blue lights as she says, "How about you tell that to the cops?"

Hearing the word 'cops' causes Ruby and Persi to both tense up, the two looking to each other before glancing over to the stolen van, which is now riddled with bullet holes. "We're so in trouble, aren't we?", Ruby groans as her shoulder slump again and she hangs her head in fear.

Reginald only chuckles at the scarlet girl before replying with, "Yep. But it was worth it."

* * *

Surrounded by police officers and with the exit barricaded, all the members of Teams SAPR and RWBY sit and stand by the nearby ambulances as they receive treatment for their low Aura levels.

"I can't believe we're not even in the slightest amount of trouble. We toppled a whole building.", Weiss notes as she holds an ice pack to her head.

Holding up a finger at the girl, Reginald quickly corrects her by saying, "An abandoned building that was going to be demolished anyways. We basically did the city a favor."

"And we're just off the hook, scot-free?", Blake asks the cocky silver boy, to which he happily nods.

"Yep, since Penny and I are still part of the Atlesian STG, they won't even come near us now. As long as we were doing something to protect the peace or some junk, we'll all be fine.", Reginald answers the Faunus girl with a slight grin.

With a loud groan, Ruby scowls over at the Atlesian boy and retorts, "Well, speak for yourself. Our Dad's gonna kill us when he finds out we stole a van, toppled a whole train station in one night, AND broke curfew all in one night."

"Man, we're so gonna get grounded for this.", Yang chuckles at her sister as she glances over at Ruby, who's hiding her face in despair.

"Grounded isn't gonna be half of what I'm going to end up with when my parents find out about this...", Sapphire groans as she leans against the nearby ambulance.

Persi looks over to Ash and asks, "I wonder what the Academy will do. We were just doing our jobs, right? They probably won't kick us out...hopefully."

"We stopped a massive robbery and eliminated one of the most wanted criminal kingpins Vale has had to deal with in ages, I doubt that the Headmaster will allow anyone to terminate us after that.", Ash calmly replies as he sits on the ground, meditating with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

With a twitch of her bow covered cat ears, Blake gives a light smile as she hears this and notes, "At least we're safe for now, right?"

Suddenly, Weiss storms over to the Faunus girl, standing in front of her with a somewhat intimidating scowl on her face.

"Weiss, I-", the cat girl begins to say before the snow queen envelopes her in a surprisingly warm hug.

There's a moment of silence between the two before Weiss breaks off the hug and gently scolds the Faunus, asking, "Do you know how worried everyone was about you? Do you know how long they were searching for you?"

"Weiss, I'm...I-", Blake stumbles to reply before the heiress pokes the Faunus on her white shirt and growls, "Twenty four hours!"

Weiss takes a single step back from her team-mate as she adds, "Now, are you or are you not a member of the White Fang?"

Feeling the Ice Queen's cold glare focused on her ribbon, Blake quickly replies with, "Of course not, I haven't been with them si-", but before she can finish, Weiss silences her with a by placing her cold finger against the Faunus girl's lips.

"That's all I needed to hear.", the white haired girl kindly tells the dusk colored girl, causing Blake to raise an eyebrow at her. With a hint of surprise, Weiss sighs, "What? You said you aren't with them anymore, right? Then it doesn't matter. All of that is in the past, and for all I care it can stay that way. But next time you need someone to lean on..." As she pauses to look over Blake's shoulder at the shirtless monkey boy sitting in the ambulance, Weiss gives the boy a slight glare before turning her gentle gaze back to her team-mate and saying, "Next time you need someone to talk to, you'll come to one of us and not some...and not someone else."

Hearing the Ice Queen's surprisingly warm remark, Blake gives her a light smile before wiping away a stray tear running down her face and and looking over to her other team-mates. Yang and Ruby are both looking at her with warm smiles, causing the monochrome girl look back to the smiling heiress and lightly answer with, "Of course."

"Looks like we all get to live happily ever after, right Penny?", Reginald jokingly notes as he glances over his shoulder for the ginger only to find her missing. This causes the boy to raise an eyebrow before pondering, "Now where did she run off to?"

* * *

Off near the roadway, Penny is sitting in a parked limo, looking back at her friends through the rear window of the vehicle as it drives off. "Penny, seat belt.", the driver calls out to her as he looks back at the ginger through his mirror.

Penny begrudgingly complies, sitting proper in her seat as she secures herself and mumbles, "Yes Sir."

As he turns his gaze back to the road, the driver scolds the young girl, growling, "You know you shouldn't be wandering around in a strange city. And you even got yourself involved with such a large amount of trouble. Just think of what your father is going to say when he hears about this."

"I know Sir. I'm sorry Sir.", Penny feebly apologizes as she slouches in her seat and hanging her head in shame.

The driver lets out a heavy sigh at the depressing sight before telling the young ginger, "Penny, your time will come. Just be patient."

* * *

Back at Beacon Academy, Ozpin is sitting in his office, relaxing in his comfy chair as he watches a live feed of the situation down at the docks on his scroll. Glancing over the destruction the young Huntsmen in training caused, the Headmaster takes a sip from his nearby mug. The feed pans over to the young Huntsmen and as he sees the two teams standing together, seeming to laugh at one of Yang's jokes as the blonde has a wide grin as they do so, he smiles internally at the sight. "It seems they're finding their way after all...", the wise old man mentally notes as he pauses the live feed, focusing his gaze on the two leaders. Looking intently at the hooded girl's silver eyes, the Headmaster's slight smile shifts to a worried frown.

Before he can do anything else, the message app lights up with a blinking green dot. With a press of the icon, Ozpin opens his messages to see he has a message from a contact named 'Qrow.' The simple message only says, "The Queen Has Pawns", but this seems to trigger something in the old man, causing him to let out a light 'Hm' as he looks it over.


End file.
